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| Early in the 19th century European strains (probably Blacks) were crossed with the local wild turkeys in the region of Narragansett, Rhode Island. This local variety was the forerunner of the Narragansett and the Bronze types. The Narragansett color factor was refined and preserved, but the name was not used to distinguish the color pattern and type until after the Bronze was named in the 1830s. One of the first varieties developed in the U.S., it has been very popular. Abraham Lincoln was sent 2 Narragansetts by the citizens of Rhode Island, who claimed the turkey was the best in the world. It was admitted to the APA Standard in 1874. In the 1930s, the Narragansett was the 3rd most popular variety behind the Historical Bronze with the White Hollands being 2nd. By 1952, they had dropped to only 2,576 being raised (with most in Minnesota), and were far out-numbered by the Broad Breasted Bronze, Beltsville Small White, White Holland, Jersey Buff, Nebraskan and the Historical Bronze in that order. Today, a total of 60 hens and 27 toms were found amongst 12 breeders. This is 3% of the total Historical turkey population found by the survey. The largest flock has 20 hens. They are well known for their excellent quality of meat, good egg production, broodiness and a calm disposition. Narragansetts are similar to Bronze, but the bronze color is replaced with a steel gray color and the brown in the tail is a tan color. A variant of this variety was called Silver Narragansett, in which pure white replaced the steel gray and tan colors. A breeder in Canada listed Silver Narragansetts on the census form. |
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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. |
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| A word about turkeys: According to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy that participated in the 2006 Turkey Census, the Beltsville Small White is on the critical list, and the Narragansett and the Royal Palm Turkeys are on the threatened list. The Bourbon Red Turkey is on the watch list. We have pairs of the Narragansetts, Royal Palms, Black-Winged Bronze, and Bourbon Reds that we are hoping to breed for 2007. Our turkeys are all still young; the oldest are coming up on a year and the babies are 3 months old. |
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