VARIETIES, MATING AND SHOWING 



poults hatch they are almost half white, the breast being 

 entirely white. When the first feathers appear they will 

 also show more or less white, but they should moult into 

 mature plumage entirely black. 



The Slate Turkey. This variety has also been called 

 the Blue or Lavender turkey. In this variety the birds 

 of both sexes should be of a slaty or ashy blue color 

 throughout. However, there is a decided tendency for 

 the plumage color to be flecked, ticked or dotted with 

 black, but the freer the plumage is from this black ticking 

 the better the birds are for breeding. There is also a 

 tendency for a buff edging or lacing to occur in all parts 

 of the body plumage which may cause a rusty appearance, 

 and this must be guarded against. It is likewise necessary 

 to guard against solid black feathers in the primaries or 

 tail, or black in these feathers. Frequent lacing of buff 

 or red, over the back and tail coverts especially, must like- 

 wise be selected against. There is also a tendency toward 

 a general washed-out appearance and birds showing this 

 are not desirable as breeders. There is very little ten- 

 dency for the plumage to show any blue lacing. 



When two Slate turkeys are bred together the resulting 

 offspring may show quite a wide variation in color, some 

 of them coming blue, some black, some very much on the 

 Bronze and occasional birds which are nearly pure white. 

 Very occasionally also birds occur in which the plumage 

 is a bluish red or faded or dirty red over the back and 

 tail coverts. There are very few breeders of Slate turkeys 

 at the present time and no one seems to have tried breed- 



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