VARIETIES, MATING AND SHOWING 



and markings. Too great care cannot be exercised in 

 selecting the breeders, for poor results as exemplified in 

 eggs which will not hatch or in weak poults or in small 

 scrubby turkeys are often the result of carelessness in the 

 selection of the birds for breeders. In general it may be 

 said that turkeys breed quite true and that there will be 

 less culls from the turkey matings than there are from 

 most matings of chickens. This is probably due to the 

 fact that turkeys are not so far removed from their wild 

 ancestors nor have the different varieties been made as 

 the result of such radical crosses. 



Making the Mating 



The Wild Turkey. The Wild Turkey is not a standard 

 variety, nor is it kept in domestication to any great ex- 

 tent. However, there are some breeders of the wild 

 variety and the wild blood is in more or less frequent 

 demand for the purpose of crossing with the Bronze 

 variety. The object of crossing is to improve the vigor 

 and vitality of the domesticated stock and also to improve 

 the color or sheen of the Bronze variety. Wild turkeys 

 should have a general plumage brilliance which is as 

 great or preferably greater than that of the best Bronze 

 turkeys. The wild variety, in addition to being more bril- 

 liant than the Bronze, differs from it principally in the 

 matter of the color of the edging on the tail feathers and 

 the tail coverts. In the wild variety, this edging varies 

 all the way from a deep red, cherry, chocolate or coffee 



23 



