Today we acquired a pair of British White turkeys and these are to form the nucleus of a new breeding program at Heritage Turkeys. There is so much that is unknown about these delightful birds and it is going to be interesting to undertake background research to find out more about them, and to initiate a breeding program to ensure they are kept for future generations. One thing for sure is that there aren’t very many of them and we shall continue our search to add other bloodlines to our nucleus group.
The British White is thought to have developed from the white ‘sports’ of a Crollwitzer and Narragansett, and this is perfectly plausible given that all varieties of turkey have the ability to produce a white bird. Importantly, these British Whites must not be confused with ‘albinos’, nor mistaken for commercial white turkeys which these birds most certainly are not.
If you have British White Turkeys or know of someone who does, please let us know as it is only by working together and pooling limited resources that the future of these turkeys can be secured.