Royal Palm Turkeys From the American Livestock Breed Conservancy website
at http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/royalpalm.html :
The Royal Palm is one of the smallest turkey varieties. It was selected as an ornamental and hobby bird and recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1971. Royal Palm turkeys are active and thrifty, excellent foragers and good flyers. Standard weights are 22 pounds for toms and twelve pounds for hens.
Royal Palm turkeys are white with black edging on the feathers. The saddle is metallic black in color, which provides a sharp contrast against the white base color of body plumage. The neck is white with a narrow black edging running the entire width of each feather. The tail is pure white with each feather having a broad band of metallic black terminating in white at the end of the tail. The coverts are white with a band of black, and the wings are white with a narrow edge of black across each feather. The breast is white with the exposed portion of each feather ending in a band of black to form a contrast of black and white similar to the scales of a fish. Body feathers are white with a black band terminating in white, and the legs and thighs are white with a very light black edging. The turkeys have red to bluish white heads, a light horn beak, light brown eyes, red to bluish white throat and wattles, and deep pink shanks and toes. The beard is black.
The Royal Palm lacks the commercial potential of the other varieties, but it has a role to play on small farms, for home production of meat or where its ability to control insect pests would be of value.
Status: Critical.
Turkeys (species note):
The American Poultry Association (APA) lists the following varieties of turkeys in its Standard of Perfection: Black, Bronze, Narragansett, White Holland, Slate, Bourbon Red, Beltsville Small White, and Royal Palm. The Buff variety was accepted in 1874 but removed this century when it became quite rare. The term "variety" is used purposefully, since the APA considers the turkey to be a breed and the sub-breeds to be varieties. Turkey varieties as genetic units are somewhat similar to the breeds and varieties of other domestic species. Though there are not many varieties, there are fewer differences between them, and, with the exception of the Bronze, they have been poorly documented.
For much of this century, the turkey industry has focused on a single variety, first the Broad-breasted Bronze and now the Large White. The other varieties have been neglected for some time and are rare today. As they were of value in the past, however, they merit conservation today.
Breed clubs and associations:
The American Livestock
Breeds Conservancy, Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312, (919) 542-5704, email albc@albc-usa.org, www.albc-usa.org
All American Turkey Growers Association, Danny Williamson, secretary-treasurer, 3441 Mustang, Tampa, KS 67483, (785)-965-2628, email brahmabrahma@hotmail.com
American Poultry Association, PO Box 306, Burgettstown, PA15021, email secretaryapa@yahoo.com, www.amerpoultryassn.com
Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, Dr. Charles R.H. Everett, Secretary, 122 Magnolia Lane, Lugoff, SC, 29078, email crheverett@bellsouth.net
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