This is neat and I thought I would share a few pics.



Kris Duerson
www.rapidriverknifeworks.com

That is cool... but can you tell me what those paper-like pieces are hanging out from behind his tail?

Thats for taxidermy purposes blazing. They put them around feathers to keep them in place while the bird is still drying. That is a neat mount! I got one that color a few years ago, but it didnt have a beard like that.

where was this turkey killed?

I've never seen one like that before. Very cool looking bird.

While the turkey is very neat I noticed one in a pen down the road so I stopped and asked them about it. It is called a Royal Palm. You can look up these on the internet. Dont get me wrong if I saw it out in the woods it would get the same treatment as any other turkey. They do make a beautiful mount!!

I was getting ready to say that the turkey had some domestic or was a domestic that escaped. Nice bird.

I understand that years ago pretty much evey farm had turkeys thet they would round up and take to market each fall for the annual turkey feast. These were domestic birds with a variety of mixxed genetics. The farms kept specific ones for breeders but let most of the poults and hens loose for the summer. Each farmer had a different looking bird so you could tell them apart. Then everyone participated in the round-up. Lets not forget that unlike most domesticated animals these turkeys are only a couple hundred years removed from true wild birds. My bet is some of the wierd color variations are from some of these domestic traits being in the new wid bird genetics. Anyway it's from an article in the paper about getting old fashioned farm raised free range turkeys for thanksgiving and the history of the turkey farmers before it became big business. Correct me if I'm wrong please!

domestic birds will not survive in the wild it is a proven fact. Awesome bird.

The side toes on the feet look funny dont they?