Royal Palm
The Royal Palm is arguably the most beautiful of all domestic turkeys. This variety was the last to be admitted to the American Poultry Association Standard, in 1977. It is a relatively small turkey, standard weight of old toms being 22 lbs and old hens, 12 lbs. Although some people think of them as an ornamental turkey, they are perfectly fine for eating, especially for small
families or individuals who do not want a huge turkey to cook.
This was one of the first turkey varieties I have kept and I have been working with them since 2008. The Royal Palm is a true breeding variety. Genotype is b'b'cgcgnn for toms, b'b'cgcgn- for hens. Photos below show what good black neck and breast edging should look like on a tom.
In 2017, I started a project attempting to get the second tail band, the tail covert band, on the Royal Palms. The APA SOP calls for the tail covert band, but most if not all Royal Palms in the United States lack it. In spite of that, judges have not been disqualifying Royal Palms as they should be. It is possible to breed this trait into this variety, as evidenced from birds in Europe which have it.
2020, one Royal Palm hen produced from a 2018 breeding of Narragansett/Royal Palm crosses shows some promise with a partial tail band. Also she has a lot more black than what is seen in the typical hatchery Royal Palm. Since I cut back on turkeys, my choices were limited on what to breed her to. The only Royal Palm tom had no inkling of a tail covert band. My Blue Narragansett, however, had a complete band, so he was the choice. I kept only offspring without the blue gene and only need a tom with a complete tail covert band to breed back to her in 2021. Looks like both toms I kept have it however due to cut backs, I decided to scrap this project and both went for processed Thanksgiving turkeys.
families or individuals who do not want a huge turkey to cook.
This was one of the first turkey varieties I have kept and I have been working with them since 2008. The Royal Palm is a true breeding variety. Genotype is b'b'cgcgnn for toms, b'b'cgcgn- for hens. Photos below show what good black neck and breast edging should look like on a tom.
In 2017, I started a project attempting to get the second tail band, the tail covert band, on the Royal Palms. The APA SOP calls for the tail covert band, but most if not all Royal Palms in the United States lack it. In spite of that, judges have not been disqualifying Royal Palms as they should be. It is possible to breed this trait into this variety, as evidenced from birds in Europe which have it.
2020, one Royal Palm hen produced from a 2018 breeding of Narragansett/Royal Palm crosses shows some promise with a partial tail band. Also she has a lot more black than what is seen in the typical hatchery Royal Palm. Since I cut back on turkeys, my choices were limited on what to breed her to. The only Royal Palm tom had no inkling of a tail covert band. My Blue Narragansett, however, had a complete band, so he was the choice. I kept only offspring without the blue gene and only need a tom with a complete tail covert band to breed back to her in 2021. Looks like both toms I kept have it however due to cut backs, I decided to scrap this project and both went for processed Thanksgiving turkeys.