Turkey with BLUE Eyes

[Diamond Peno]

My tom is suppose to be a Broad breasted BUT his eyes are blue. I have had some tell me that some broad can have a blue gene BUT its more likely he is Holland. his girlfriend is a year old an gotten by some friends at Big Lots as Broad Breasted white. (her mate died and she has been lonely an I took her for my 3 month tom who needed someone.)
Mine is 3 months old... will they change or stay blue and if HE is a broad is that rare or COULD be he a Holland and when the order can in an it as was marked Heritage Broad breasted whites could it be that the boxes got switched an the store got the wrong ones???? wither way something is OFF about him and i knew it from the start lol. Also could she not be a broad but a Holland or another type of white to as I know stores DO sometimes get things marked wrong.
(This is their temp set up run till she gets us to being here an the flock as he is use to the flock. and her temp cage/dog crate that she came with in covered. she was spoiled were she came from but got depressed/lonely. she use to have chickens/ducks/other another turkey but winter/wild critters got them all and the one hen left was not really buddies with her so she wondered and people would call hey your turkey is on my porch or is close to the high way following the wild ones.)
Pictures are of his eyes vrs hers... they are common looking were his are like WOW to me. lol

 

[R2elk]

My tom is suppose to be a Broad breasted BUT his eyes are blue. I have had some tell me that some broad can have a blue gene BUT its more likely he is Holland. his girlfriend is a year old an gotten by some friends at Big Lots as Broad Breasted white. (her mate died and she has been lonely an I took her for my 3 month tom who needed someone.)
Mine is 3 months old... will they change or stay blue and if HE is a broad is that rare or COULD be he a Holland and when the order can in an it as was marked Heritage Broad breasted whites could it be that the boxes got switched an the store got the wrong ones???? wither way something is OFF about him and i knew it from the start lol. Also could she not be a broad but a Holland or another type of white to as I know stores DO sometimes get things marked wrong.
(This is their temp set up run till she gets us to being here an the flock as he is use to the flock. and her temp cage/dog crate that she came with in covered. she was spoiled were she came from but got depressed/lonely. she use to have chickens/ducks/other another turkey but winter/wild critters got them all and the one hen left was not really buddies with her so she wondered and people would call hey your turkey is on my porch or is close to the high way following the wild ones.)
Pictures are of his eyes vs hers... they are common looking were his are like WOW to me. lol

Blue eyes are a deduction according to the standard. The blue eyes are linked to the black (B) color gene while brown eyes are linked to the bronze (b or b1) color gene.

White turkeys are from the recessive white color gene which can and does hide all of the other color genes (even the color genes that are dominant normally).

Your white turkey with the blue eyes is carrying the normally dominant black (BB) color gene and your white turkey with the brown eyes is carrying the bronze (bb or bb1 or b1b1) color gene.

I have Blue Slate turkeys that are black based (BB) and all of them have blue eyes. I also have Sweetgrass and Royal Palm turkeys that are black winged bronze (b1b1) based and they all have brown eyes.

 

[Diamond Peno]

I am just learning about turkey color an genetics lol. I know about their care and their are different ones. SOME like the midget ones I am just learning about lol as I never heard of them lol and I did read up on the blue eyes link to the black gene.
So then he is probably still a broad breast not a Holland then right? Is there a way get him tested for sure as I am curious as something to in me is telling me he is NOT what he seems lol. that is why I asked as things I keep reading say Holland have the blue eyes more so then the broad's... dose the blue eyes make them rare though? not like worth money but rare as in like a white raccoon in the wild something you don't see all the time? and if him and him girl mate (make fertile eggs) cool if not... just happy they are happy for now.

 

[R2elk]

I am just learning about turkey color an genetics lol. I know about their care and their are different ones. SOME like the midget ones I am just learning about lol as I never heard of them lol and I did read up on the blue eyes link to the black gene.
So then he is probably still a broad breast not a Holland then right? Is there a way get him tested for sure as I am curious as something to in me is telling me he is NOT what he seems lol. that is why I asked as things I keep reading say Holland have the blue eyes more so then the broad's... dose the blue eyes make them rare though? not like worth money but rare as in like a white raccoon in the wild something you don't see all the time? and if him and him girl mate (make fertile eggs) cool if not... just happy they are happy for now.

The tom is a broad breasted white. White Hollands were the basis for the BBWs. Blue eyes are common in black based turkeys. Most people don't notice what color the eyes of a turkey are because from any distance at all whether blue or brown, they all look black.

Since the tom is a BBW, you may not get fertile eggs from the mating. They can breed naturally but because of the size and weight of the BBWs they are not efficient breeders which is why commercially they are bred by the use of artificial insemination.

 

[Diamond Peno]

Can I breed them artificial my self if I had to like learn to do that properly? i like to learn things like that. I know I am weird lol.
I know farmers do with their larger live stalk.
I was just wondering if he WAS as he seems OFF to me. with not just his eyes. but everything about him. temper at times, his build from looking at broads and Hollands and others. could he BE a cross but when sold with the batch never told as I have herd that happen someone screws up but since they LOOK like a pure or what ever they never say nothing or don't care and sell them.... Even the store owner I got him from said HE seems way different then all the others as I had him check in with some of the others he could an they turkeys they got hens/and toms are all larger then him an all brown eyes. I called him a few days ago before this post. 30 turkeys came in only 5 people wanted them but only 3 showed up to get them so not to hard to track them down. the rest never showed up so he is looking to see if he can get a hold of them to see.
Is there a way to tell a Holland from a broad just by looks? I can't tell from the pictures I see really is their some sorta clue I am missing lol?

 

[R2elk]

Can I breed them artificial my self if I had to like learn to do that properly? i like to learn things like that. I know I am weird lol.
I know farmers do with their larger live stalk.
I was just wondering if he WAS as he seems OFF to me. with not just his eyes. but everything about him. temper at times, his build from looking at broads and Hollands and others. could he BE a cross but when sold with the batch never told as I have herd that happen someone screws up but since they LOOK like a pure or what ever they never say nothing or don't care and sell them.... Even the store owner I got him from said HE seems way different then all the others as I had him check in with some of the others he could an they turkeys they got hens/and toms are all larger then him an all brown eyes. I called him a few days ago before this post. 30 turkeys came in only 5 people wanted them but only 3 showed up to get them so not to hard to track them down. the rest never showed up so he is looking to see if he can get a hold of them to see.
Is there a way to tell a Holland from a broad just by looks? I can't tell from the pictures I see really is their some sorta clue I am missing lol?

If you learn how and have the proper equipment, yeas a person an learn to do artificial insemination. Personally, if ordered in sufficient quantities from a reliable hatchery, I don't think it is possible to breed your own cheaper.

A White Holland will grow a little slower and finish up a little smaller than a properly raised BBW. Without having them side by side, I would not be able to just look at one and say which it is.

 

[Diamond Peno]

SO could he be a Holland? or still a BBW since he is smallish? OR just still small yet? i know he is only 3 months BUT he is smaller then the others. (from what I am being told) BUT they have theirs one turkey/flock feed. I have him on start an grow layena non med and pellets as he is outside with her and was learning to be with the adult chicken/ducks who get some start/grow to since there is young ones in there.
(Even when NO young ones the start and grow for me seems to help with that spring fling time of year when everyone seems more hungry and hens get a lot of action from the roos lol)
I was told by turkey farmers HERE that if he was going to be a pet/breeder then I dont need to be feeding him that high turkey/flock feed to make him fat. he will be fine on the chicken flock feed. and I mix stuff and give all mine healthy nummies in the after noon. but so he don't get FAT an can't walk... but HE still could if something genetically was wrong with him as they are made to get BIG to eat some can and just DO. an if he did I would get him dippers and a wagon an tote him around lol. that the kind of person I am lol BUT he is smaller then all the others from what I am told the others LOOK like. the others from what I am told are almost her size at his age....so either they are lying to the store owner or really over feeding them and keeping them really caged up or something.

 

[Diamond Peno]

I do have a baby picture dont know if that would help? probably not his mate was WAY smaller which females tend to be.

 

[R2elk]

SO could he be a Holland? or still a BBW since he is smallish? OR just still small yet? i know he is only 3 months BUT he is smaller then the others. (from what I am being told) BUT they have theirs one turkey/flock feed. I have him on start an grow layena non med and pellets as he is outside with her and was learning to be with the adult chicken/ducks who get some start/grow to since there is young ones in there.
(Even when NO young ones the start and grow for me seems to help with that spring fling time of year when everyone seems more hungry and hens get a lot of action from the roos lol)
I was told by turkey farmers HERE that if he was going to be a pet/breeder then I dont need to be feeding him that high turkey/flock feed to make him fat. he will be fine on the chicken flock feed. and I mix stuff and give all mine healthy nummies in the after noon. but so he don't get FAT an can't walk... but HE still could if something genetically was wrong with him as they are made to get BIG to eat some can and just DO. an if he did I would get him dippers and a wagon an tote him around lol. that the kind of person I am lol BUT he is smaller then all the others from what I am told the others LOOK like. the others from what I am told are almost her size at his age....so either they are lying to the store owner or really over feeding them and keeping them really caged up or something.

The smaller size is most likely due to the poor quality feed your turkey received to start. Chicken feed does not have the proper nutrients in it for turkey poults. It isn't just about the high protein percentage but they also need the higher concentrations of lysine, methionine and niacin that a proper turkey starter has. The decreased amount of niacin in particular can lead to leg problems. If you are planning on using it as a breeder, that is all the more reason to give it a good quality feed.

Personally, I would not even consider using such a poor specimen as a breeder.

I have raised broad breasted turkeys in the past and gave them a 28% protein turkey/gamebird feed to start followed by a 24% protein turkey/gamebird grower. My turkeys had food and water available at all times and got to free range during the daytime. I had no overweight or leg issues.

Once they are adults, a quality chicken or all flock feed is fine but they really need a proper turkey starter in the beginning.

Since you don't say what the "healthy nummies" are, there is no way to know whether or not they are healthy for your turkey. All treats combined should not exceed 10% of the total diet. Items such as scratch, BOSS, cracked corn, etc. are treats and are fine in limited quantities but can be harmful in large quantities.

You didn't provide the proper nutrition for your turkey so your final conclusion is not warranted about how the others have had their turkeys turn out.

 

[Diamond Peno]

He got game/turkey star and grow at 1st then when that bag was out we started him on non medicated start and grow. BUT he never liked the game turkey we got. we got a small bag of the turkey starter when we got him then got a larger back or start/grow a few weeks later but it was game flock/star grow. we mix all stalk and corn oats in our feed along with oatmeal and wild bird seed (not a lot but as a little treat in the mix) and flax seed) in the winter/breeding times/young we put a little cornmeal in.
We give them fruits/veggies/cheerios/flock block for the chicks/ducks. not sure if we would need a game one for them an it would be ok for the ducks/chickens as they all will be going together. they have out time to roam and free range.
we give them more all stalk in the winter along with corn. what I was told they feed theirs is just turkey feed or wild game.