ROYAL PALM TURKEYS

This is my all time favorite breed of turkey and I have hands on experience raising them for family use. 

Royal Palm Turkeys were recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1971. Because of their small size, Royal Palm Turkeys are rarely the birds seen on American's Thanksgiving tables. What they lack in meat value they make up in ornamental capacity. Many people are beginning to realize this bird's value as a meat bird for small families. Because they have never been highly bred for meat they are rare through out the world. They are easy to care for in a smaller environment than the larger turkeys require. Standard weights are 22 pounds for toms and twelve pounds for hens. They are efficient animals to keep as they are good foragers and can generally take care of themselves. Royal Palm Turkeys breed naturally, like wild turkeys. The hens are good setters and great mothers.

This is a remarkably attractive bird. They display some of the nicest colors of all turkey varieties. Royal Palm turkeys are white with black edging on the feathers. The contrast of this black/white combination is truly radiant. 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.

My first pair of these turkeys taught me much and I confirm that all the facts above are true!  When the hen had a clutch of 12, she proceeded to sit on them.  When she hatched all 12, the tom took great interest.  He poked, nudged and shoved the little poults.  We thought he was intent on killing them, so he was penned separate form his family.  He could see them through the fencing.  He took to crouching by an old hubcap... where he could see himself.  He moaned and fussed.  Soon, he lost his appetite and gustful nature.  It became apparent that this bird was dying!  He was dying of lonliness!  As soon as this was acknowledged as fact, he was reunited with his family.  To our utter amazement, he shared the nest and chick rearing duties with his mate!  Lesson learned!  Royal Palm Turkeys ARE family orriented!  Never again will I remove a Palm Tom from his family!  They are excellent parents of their young AND other species.

A yearling hen had laid half a dozen eggs and went to sitting on them. They were not fertile eggs and were not going to hatch.   Therefore, she was given half a clutch of fresh peafowl eggs and placed in a pen with a Cochin hen on the other half of this clutch of peahen eggs.  Both birds took on these duties identically and with the same purpose in mind... motherhood.  After 28 days, both hens hatched 3 chicks each. 

These hens, Royal Palm turkey and Cochin Bantam chickens were reunited with the main flock consisting of peafowl, turkey and chickens.  Their respective mates joined them and assisted in the raising of these strange chicks.

Today, these yearling poults and chicks are a part of the main flock.  They no longer roost under their surrogate mothers.  These yearlings are not confused as to their species and do interact with their own kind.  Royal Palms are my favorite turkey.  I will be pleased to answer any questions on this guide or my poultry.  I hope you enjoyed reading about my birds.

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