# Royal Palm Turkeys



## LilElk (Jan 16, 2007)

Does anyone have experence with these small turkeys I have a empty pen and run and was thinking maybe. All information about them would be of help. Thank You


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Small?!
Maybe in comparison to a Franken-turkey breed like a Broad Breasted, but they get to be really big.

They are calm and peaceful birds that don't give a minute's problem. Though they do seem to be a bit more emotional. As long as everything around them stays the same, then they will be fine. But we had a tom that pined away in depression after we butchered his buddies until he actually died from it. We gave him girls and extra attention etc.. but he just pined away to nothing.
He was physically fine.

They are not as aggressive as Bourbon Reds in anything that they do.
Gentile, huge and lovely and tasty.


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## LilElk (Jan 16, 2007)

I Had read that the Royal Palm was the smallest domesticated Turkey please tell me the smallest. I thought they were two or three pounds heavyer than a Jersy Giant chicken. Educate me I hate to be ignorant. Thank You


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## HillRunner (Jun 28, 2010)

Would the midget whites be the smallest ?


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

We butcher our toms about 5-6 onths of age and the Royal Palms are about 15 pounds or maybe a little more by then. You aren't going to get a 20 lb bird from them, but they are comparable to the other breeds we raise or have raised that are heritage breeds.

And the Midget Whites!
They can get a good size too.
It depends on whether or not they go throwback to their larger ancestors.
We have found them to be on par with all of our other turkeys as well, but with a deeper, broader breast. This year we are inter-breeding our Royals and Midget Whites to see what we get. We will select out for a deeper breast for next year's breeding.
Though I didn't like the flavor, color or texture of the Midget White meat.


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## LilElk (Jan 16, 2007)

Are they full adult size at 6 months? My Buff Orpington rooster is 11 1/2# he is 8 months old. The flock of 8 wk old chicks he was about a 100 and he was a full head taller than the rest. I have found 3 Black Jersy giant hens that are about the same size he is, for my second hen house and run. My roo splits his day, while the Pullets stay separated. The third house and run is where I was thinking about a turkey or 3. Do not realy like the look of solid white turkeys but like the black and white. Looking for a turkey not a lot larger than the chickens. What can I look for? Thank You


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

We just got our Royal Palms late this summer & so far we Love them. We bought a Tom that was 6 months old at the time & 3 poults which we were hoping at least 2 would be hens. Well it turned out that only 1 is a hen so the other 2 will be sold or butchered when they are big enough. The poults are now 6 months old & my tom is almost a year old.

The 2 young toms are still smaller than my 1 year old tom so I would guess at 5-6 months of age they still have some growing to do. I'm not sure what my adult tom weighs but he's a decent size.

The adult tom is very affectionate & loves to be petted & held on your lap. I've been working with the others to be just as loving & they are coming along.









Here's a picture of our adult tom at about 6 months of age. This is Lincoln.


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## lisa's garden (Apr 1, 2010)

Love the pic! I have been considering a heritage breed of turkey.

Chickenista...can you describe the color, taste and texture of the Midget White? I'm curious why you didn't like it and if you see a big difference between them and the other turkeys you have raised. Thanks!


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Wow Backfourty.. he's tiny!
I am doing something wrong..









And I found the Midget White's (though they are supposed to win the taste tests every year) taste and texture to be... mealy/squishy/bland.
They remind me more of a grocery store type bird.
They meat was fairly pale and soft..

I like a Bourbon Red or a Royal Palm or even a Blue Slate (we won't raise them anymore..stupidest things on earth)
The meat is firmer and richer in color and flavor. Yep, richer is the word I would use to describe the difference. Richer in every way.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

According to the ALBC(American Livestock Breed Conservancy) Midget whites are Smallest, the Beltsville Small Whites then Royal Palms. Of those three the royal palms are the only one with "hatchet breasts"..which is to say their breasts are thin and sharp at the keel.

I have raised Palms and Beltsvilles. The Belts make a better "pan" bird because of the breast muscleing and the shorter leg bone. I am currently working on a Lavender Penciled Palm for feather and meat production. BTW, the Belts hens are egg laying fools if you don't let them set. If they do set and you remove the poults to brood they come back into lay. I have had them persist until snow flies.

I currently have no pure bred turkeys because I am breeding for personal goals as opposed to breed standards. Not saying it is a bad thing but Chickenista, at the weights you give for your Palms they are past breed standard weight. All the pure blood heritage breeds I have raised took more like 8 to 9 months for a well fleshed carcass..if I butchered them at 5 to 6 months I'd have all bone. So if you are raising them to a good butcher weight by 6 months , what is the possibility they are crossed?


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Hmmm.. where did I get my eggs??
It has been so long that I don't remember anymore.
But we keep our breeding flocks separate unless we mix intentionally.

But we are happy with the dressed weights we get.
None of our customers need a bigger bird than 16 or so, which is good. I wouldn't want to have to man handle a big ol bird at butcher time. It is bad enough with what we have..especially once you get them soaking wet.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

Tell me about the bigger birds! I once did a 50pound live(40 pound dressed) BBB tom...NEVER again. I have crossed some BBW blood into my Belts/Palms and dressed several toms this year in the 21+ pound finished range. I have several customers that want the large breasts big family birds and I just don't want to spend over 7 dollars a poult to pour feed into at todays prices.

I had to get out of Pure Belts because my Palms threw several pure white birds and I did not know until a generation too late that one of those white palm toms was in with my pure belts. Black and white patterened belts babies was a dead giveaway. I was sorry to stop breeding them but I could not be sure any were pure anymore and they(as purebreds) are on the critical list with the ALBC.


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## LilElk (Jan 16, 2007)

I only sell live birds and eggs, have had multiple surgerys on both arms and no longer am able to process birds for others If the smallest mature turkeys are solid white I guess I will have to pass on them. Backfourty MI, and Chickenista those are good looking birds. Thank You


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## lisa's garden (Apr 1, 2010)

Thanks for the description of the meat, Chickenista...much appreciated.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

bee said:


> Tell me about the bigger birds! I once did a 50pound live(40 pound dressed) BBB tom...NEVER again. I have crossed some BBW blood into my Belts/Palms and dressed several toms this year in the 21+ pound finished range. I have several customers that want the large breasts big family birds and I just don't want to spend over 7 dollars a poult to pour feed into at todays prices.
> 
> I had to get out of Pure Belts because my Palms threw several pure white birds and I did not know until a generation too late that one of those white palm toms was in with my pure belts. Black and white patterened belts babies was a dead giveaway. I was sorry to stop breeding them but I could not be sure any were pure anymore and they(as purebreds) are on the critical list with the ALBC.




Year before last we raised BBW & had 1 that when we butchered it dressed out at 43 pounds! Way too big. Had to cut in in half with a sawzall to get the 2 halves into 2 different roasters.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Chickenista, my tom looks as big as yours now when he's all fluffed up but that picture was taken when he was about 6 months old. He is a real sweetie.

Anxious to butcher one & see what we get but Lincoln is just for breeding purposes.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

For the OP or anyone else interested in the breeds discissed...

http://albc-usa.org/

they list weights for young birds in all 3 breeds discussed...the Palms are only about a pound or so less(toms) than the Belts and 3 pounds more than the midget whites.

http://www.porterturkeys.com/royalpalm.htm 

one source of carefully bred birds...a little larger tho..toms 22 pounds.

I guess I just don't want to see you give up on Turks..I enjoy mine so! Who says you have to butcher them...turkey eggs are wonderful and you have to try a loaf of bread made using a turkey egg!!

another source; http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/pages/poultry_catalog.html


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Never thought about using the extra eggs like normal eggs! Wonder what the difference is? We don't have chickens but have ducks that are egg layers so we usually only have duck eggs here.

So Sorry LilElk, I do not mean to hijack your thread.


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## LilElk (Jan 16, 2007)

not a problem with me, like to read inteligent discussion.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

We primarily eat turkey and muscovy eggs.
The difference with a turkey egg is a tougher shell to crack and they are bigger.
And the muscovy eggs, their whites are really white/clear whereas my chicken eggs are tinged golden. And the duck eggs have a higher protein in the whites which mean they whip up higher and fluffier. Great for baking. A duck egg cake is a thing of beauty.


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## lisa's garden (Apr 1, 2010)

Oh man, I remember the cakes my mom made with duck eggs...heaven on earth! They have extra fat in them too. Which is why DH doesn't really want me to get ducks for eggs. I will eventually get them anyway, but working on cleaning out a new area for turkeys and ducks this year.

I was very interested in the Royal Palms or the Bourbon Reds...hard to decide which to get. So I am glad to have this thread.

Does anyone have real world experience comparing these 2 breeds? Would love to hear what you think!


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## Guest (Jan 4, 2012)

Unless you just want them for their appearance I don't see any benefit to having Royal Palms over Midget Whites or Beltsville Small Whites. The carcass confirmation of the Palms is poor relative to the other two breeds.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

What A.T. said (and I did too with the "hatchet breast" comment); but the OP doesn't want a pure white turkey or a large turkey thus only(so far) the Royal Palm even gets close. 

Comparing the Bourbons and Palms..the Bourbon is larger and meatier bird.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

A.T. Hagan said:


> Unless you just want them for their appearance I don't see any benefit to having Royal Palms over Midget Whites or Beltsville Small Whites. The carcass confirmation of the Palms is poor relative to the other two breeds.


That is why we are breeding Royal Palms amd Midget Whites together this year.
Though we did get a good amount of breasts on our Royal Palms.
We are curious to see what the interbreeding will bring. We would choose the broadest breast for next year's breeding.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

lisa's garden said:


> I was very interested in the Royal Palms or the Bourbon Reds...hard to decide which to get. So I am glad to have this thread.
> 
> Does anyone have real world experience comparing these 2 breeds? Would love to hear what you think!


Bourbon Reds are my favorite breed really.
I like the size and love, love, love the flavor!
And I really like the Royal Palms for their mild manners.
But both breeds are easy keepers and the only real trouble is the basic trouble you get with all turkeys..flying, curiousity, and the desire to take meat off the grill of the guy across the road.


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