Blue Slate Turkeys
A few years ago, I acquired six rare Blue Slate poults along with the season’s usual batch of Broad-Breasted Bronzes. Five weren’t strong and didn’t compete well against the bigger, more vigorous Bronzes. I understood. I’d already been warned by the hatchery worker who called me the second time my order was delayed because of a disappointed hatch rate at her hatchery. The gene pool of this rare, but beautiful variety was on the decline, and each year the hatch rate declined, and there weren’t as many strong poults among those that did hatch. Such is the nature of breeding very rare types of poultry.
The sixth poult, though, was a titan. She grew quickly, and she vigorously defend her position at the feeder. Time passed, and she grew into a large, strong hen with rich, ash blue feathers speckled with black. Slate became a family pet, and we had high hopes for either acquiring or raising a mate and maybe a few others to keep her company.
Unfortunately, a pack of domestic dogs foiled that plan. The dogs were large, well-fed and groomed, and bored. They’d been seen running as a pack during the day and harassing livestock over a wide-spread area. Eventually they reached my place, and Slate was one of their victims. Her wounds were extensive, worse than anything I’d ever seen on a bird that still breathed. She lived a couple of days, which was miraculous considering the extent of the damage. We did everything possible, knowing she’d be crippled, but hoping she could still produce offspring. We didn’t want to lose whatever genes had produced a bird with such vigor and strong survival instincts. We lost her, of course, but are determined to start over with this variety.
General description
Called both Slate and Blue Slate, this variety is named for its color, a solid ashy blue over the entire body. The actual color patterns and inheritability is a bit complex. Most breeders I’ve dealt with consider there to be three color types within the variety.
· The true Blue Slate is an ashy blue color with black dots scattered across the feathers. This type occasionally is called a Splash.
· A Blue doesn’t have the black dots, and may be have more washed out color than the Slate. · Then there are the Blacks, which are, of course, have all black feathers. These Blacks will have the pink shanks and toes, which distinguishes them from the standard for Spanish Blacks in the U.S. and the Norfolk Blacks in England, both of which feature black shanks and toes.
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