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Post by dovehunter on Jun 12, 2009 14:01:17 GMT -5
I went groundhog hunting this morning and was driving slowly down one the farm roads when three hen turkeys crossed the road in front of my truck no more than 25yds away. One of them was nearly all white. It had some dark feathers but I'd say the bird was 2/3 to 3/4 white. I would have thought I had lost my mind other than a month or so earlier, during spring gobbler season, I talked with the farm manager and he asked me if I had seen the white hen. Would this be considered an albino? Any of the rest of you ever seen a white wild turkey? I've seen a few albino deer in my time and at least one of what we call a piebald deer around here, but never a white wild turkey.  |
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Post by jmarriott on Jun 12, 2009 14:35:58 GMT -5
The only white turkeys i have ever seen were domestic livestock. These birds were so dumb the would drowned when it rained.
I would go get that turkey before it rains.
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Jun 12, 2009 14:43:00 GMT -5
It happens so I have ben told by the Nebraska game & fish officers, also hear they ask you to go ahead and shoot them as they don't want them in the flock.
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Post by dovehunter on Jun 12, 2009 20:35:10 GMT -5
The only white turkeys i have ever seen were domestic livestock. These birds were so dumb the would drowned when it rained. I would go get that turkey before it rains. Hey this was no Butterball or Purdue here! This was a genuine nearly all white wild turkey. You will recall I had said it was running with two other conventionally colored hens. |
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Post by deputydon on Jun 19, 2009 15:26:21 GMT -5
It happens so I have ben told by the Nebraska game & fish officers, also hear they ask you to go ahead and shoot them as they don't want them in the flock. Thats true Bounce. They have told me that too. |
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Jul 1, 2009 20:48:01 GMT -5
It may be a crossbred bird - hard telling from how many generations ago. I think the odds of that are much greater than a true albino.
I know in southern missouri, there are 30-35 pound wild birds taken in specific areas that the state won't recognize for the record books because of a turkey farm (factory lol) that went out of business years ago.
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Post by dovehunter on Jul 2, 2009 14:53:40 GMT -5
It may be a crossbred bird - hard telling from how many generations ago. I think the odds of that are much greater than a true albino. I know in southern missouri, there are 30-35 pound wild birds taken in specific areas that the state won't recognize for the record books because of a turkey farm (factory lol) that went out of business years ago. Sorry Red, that won't wash! There isn't now nor has there been a domestic turkey farm within a 100 miles of this place. |
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Post by deputydon on Jul 3, 2009 20:12:10 GMT -5
Most likely a throw back from generations back. Transplanted turkeys from some other state ?
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Post by nulle on Sept 3, 2009 12:19:54 GMT -5
Game Department in South Dakota will shoot them in short order also as they do not want them mixed in with the wild ones.
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Post by klsm54 on Sept 3, 2009 15:12:53 GMT -5
I've heard of white, or partially white wild turkeys before. I recall pictures in the local newspaper of a partially white gobbler taken a few years back. I think that they would occur naturally, without any crossbreeding, just as there are white and part white mutants in other species. I'm not an ornithologist, but I doubt very much that there is anything "inferior" about such birds. There are those that feel albino deer are not good for the herd too, even though that has been proven to be hogwash. Here is what the PA Game Commission has to say about it.... www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=466&q=172917A quick web search turned up a few photos......     |
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Post by Jack on Sept 3, 2009 21:07:22 GMT -5
Nice pics, Klsm!
That bird looks like an albino or some other gene mutation to me. The bird's shape is clearly that of a wild bird, not a domestic. Same for the feather patterns, even though they are washed out.
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Post by dovehunter on Sept 4, 2009 7:41:12 GMT -5
Scott: The bird I saw (also several others I hunt with) was exactly like the birds in your pictures 1, 3, & 4. I thought I had said earlier in the thread that the bird I saw was not all white!!! It was obviously a mutated bird or throw-back of some kind. It was undoubtedly not a tame all-white turkey that had gotten loose from the local turkey farm as has been suggested by some of our associates.  |
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Sept 4, 2009 8:26:02 GMT -5
At least in this state and sounds like others if you see one it is most elligable for your dinner table with out any special permit.
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Post by dovehunter on Sept 4, 2009 10:56:33 GMT -5
At least in this state and sounds like others if you see one it is most elligable for your dinner table with out any special permit. I believe you could shoot them here in Va. - and I certainly would - as you would any other wild birds, subject to all the usual seasons, rules and regulations. However, I don't believe I would take a chance on shooting one out of season as nulle suggested could be done in South Dakota. The way my luck runs I would be feasting on it from inside a jail cell! |
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Sept 4, 2009 11:42:06 GMT -5
And if you took one during seasion with your luck lol. someone would think you needed a licence........smiles.
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