The Bronze
turkey is named for its unusual color, a shimmering green-bronze which appears
metallic in the sunlight. It is found in two types, the Broad-breasted which
has commercial uses, and the Unimproved (or naturally-mating), for small-scale
production. Both are rare in North America.
The North
American turkey industry has built its current success on broad-breasted white
turkeys. Broad-breasted turkeys (whether White or Bronze) require artificial
insemination to reproduce, a result of the meaty breast which presents an
obstacle for natural mating. In addition, processors have favored the
white-feathered birds, whose pinfeathers are harder to detect after cleaning.
This has left the Bronze in decline, even though many producers say this breed
is calmer and easier to handle than the White. The Broad-breasted Bronze is now
bred at only five or six hatcheries in the United States. It is sometimes
crossed with the White turkey and also sold as a backyard hobby bird, but has an
uncertain future.
The unimproved
Bronze is rarer still, with only one hatchery breeding flock and a few
scattered university flocks known. For information on purchasing unimproved
Bronze turkeys, contact Wish Poultry, Box 362, Prairie City, OR 97869, telephone
541-820-3509. Other sources can be found in the ALBC Breeders Directory.
The turkey is
native to North America and was domesticated by the Aztecs in Mexico 500 years
ago. Turkeys were taken to Spain beginning in 1500 and rapidly became known
across Europe. The Pilgrims and other settlers brought turkeys with them to New
England where they were crossed with wild indigenous stocks. This hybrid type
was itself taken back to England where a game keep named John Bull began to
select for a broader breast. He emigrated to Canada and brought turkeys with
him, selling them in North America as "broad-breasted" turkeys.
The unimproved
Bronze is not the same breed as the wild turkey, though they able to
interbreed, which is a cause for concern to some wildlife managers.
Status: RARE.
Less than 300 breeding hens were found in the 1987 ALBC poultry survey,
although there may be more if the exhibition turkeys are included.
Reference:
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy,
PO Box 477, Pittsboro, NC
Photograph:
Jason Rekemeyer,
Rekemeyer Fowl Farm, Maquoketa, IA
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