Blue Slate Turkey

The Blue Slate turkey is a rare heritage breed believed to trace back to the Spanish Black turkey in the United States and the Norfolk Black in England. Highly regarded for its excellent foraging abilities, the Blue Slate is an ideal choice for backyard farms. These turkeys are capable of natural reproduction and are known to go broody.

The genetics of the Blue Slate turkey offer many unique breeding possibilities. Breeding two splash slates results in offspring that are exclusively splash slates, characterized by their ash-blue coloring with small black speckles. When two blue slates are bred together, all three color variations (blue splash, blue, and black) may appear in the offspring. Pairing a blue slate with a black slate typically produces only blue and black poults, while breeding two black slates generally results in entirely black offspring.

This color diversity, combined with the breed’s hardy nature, makes the Blue Slate turkey a rewarding choice for both farmers and breeders.

Bourbon Red Turkey

The Bourbon Red turkey is another rare heritage breed. Originally developed in Pennsylvania, it was brought to Kentucky alongside the long rifle and later gained its name from Bourbon County, where it became quite popular. Known for its strikingly beautiful color pattern, the Bourbon Red is an excellent choice for both farms and backyard flocks, offering a blend of practicality and beauty.

Bronze Turkey

The Bronze Broad Breasted turkey originated in America and is often regarded as the largest and heaviest breed of its kind. It’s a great choice to raise for family meat production and has an excellent feed-to-meat conversion rate. However, because of their large size, the Bronze Broad Breasted turkey generally does not reproduce very well and they have a shorter natural lifespan than a heritage turkey.

Royal Palm Turkey

The Royal Palm turkey, a rare heritage breed, is known for its striking plumage and practical qualities. They are slightly smaller than other heritage turkey breeds.

Royal Palms are excellent foragers and thrive with minimal intervention. They also help control insect populations. Their natural ability to breed and tendency to go broody make them a valuable addition to any farm.

White Broad Breasted Turkey

The White Broad Breasted turkey is the most common commercial eating turkey breed available today, prized for its size and meat production. As one of the largest turkey breeds, it has limited natural reproductive abilities, often requiring artificial insemination to ensure high hatchability rates.

Unlike heritage breeds, these turkeys have a shorter lifespan, as they are specifically bred for efficient meat production. Their exceptional feed-to-meat conversion ratio makes them a staple in the industry. For many Americans, the main course of their Thanksgiving feast is a Broad Breasted White turkey.