Grizzled Nebraska Turkey Pic?

[Randy]

Anyone know where I could get a pic of a Grizzled Nebraska Turkey? Would like to see what they look like.

They also called a few other names.

>>>Grizzled and Spotted turkeys have long histories and are old. The name Nebraska was added in the 20th century. Grizzled turkeys are sometimes called Royal Nebraskas and Spotted turkeys are sometimes called Nebraska Royals.>>>

 

[Lagerdogger]

There is a website called feathersite that has two pictures of Nebraskans, but I don't know which kind.

 

[Tunastopper]

Are you trying to breed spotted turkeys or think you might have one? I am very interested in spotted turkeys.

Have you see these pictures? http://msumner.co.uk/nebraskan.pdf

This was posted by Glenda.

Nebraskan Turkeys
By Craig Russell

This article was sent to me as I was interested in them, coming from Iowa a friend had the Nebraska
Turkeys in the 70's. Glenda L Heywood

Mr Russell's information is this:
I was asked to do an article on this critically rare variety of turkey. Despite the fact that I've seen
representatives of most types of this group and have had one version for many years, I don't know
a lot about the actual history of their development.

Until recently, most of what I did know came from word-of-mouth and advertisements in old poultry
magazines.

The recent ALBC book, "Birds of a Feather: Saving Rare Turkeys From Extinction" by Carolyn Christman and Robert Hawes indicates that the spotted version was introduced in 1947 by R.H. Jandebeur of
North Platte, Nebraska. He established his strain from individuals that bred out of his broadbreasted Bronze flock.

The Nebraskan group (or groups) is based on two pattern mutations, both of which can be and have been produced in a number of colors. The 'spotted' version is nearly white with spots or flecks of color,
particularly over the shoulders and breast; The 'grizzled' version has a pattern similar to that
of a grizzled pigeon. In other words, they are dark birds which have an uneven distribution of pigment
resulting in light highlights.

While the note about Nebraskans in the ALBC book confirms some of what I'd been told previously, the
actual spotted or flecked pattern is much older. This is true of the grizzled pattern also. When I was
growing up, several of my neighbors and Bruce Lentz, the well known stringman, chided me for calling such turkeys 'Nebraskans', on the grounds that both had been common long before the term was applied to them.

This is pretty much confirmed by the fact that at one time, the standard-sized versions were
widespread. In fact, I've never seen the grizzled type as anything but a standard bird, but I have read
advertisements from the 1940's or 50's selling the broadbreasted version.

I've been told that there were five Nebraskan varieties: 3 spotted and 2 grizzled, but clearly,
these patterns could be produced in a wide variety of colors. In the nearly 40 years I've been aware of
Nebraskans, I've heard several versions of the proper names, but usually the black and white spotted version has been called the Nebraska Royal (or Royale), while the black or charcoal gray grizzles are
Royal Nebraskas.

Blue versions of both types have existed and are usually called Blue Nebraskas or Nebraska Blues,
but I would think the names make more sense with the proper placement of 'Royal'. Despite the birds of
R.H. Jandebeur being white with black spots, the term, 'spotted' Nebraskan is usually applied to the buff version. It has been nearly 25 years since I've seen this variety in North America, but they still exist in Great Britain and in other parts of Europe.

The new ALBC book has an illustration of several different tail feathers of various turkeys, displayed
in a fanlike pattern, and a Red Nebraskan (spotted type) is included. This is certainly a possible type,
but is one I had not previously been aware of.

I'm not actually sure how the grizzled pattern received the Nebraskan name, but 10 or 11 years ago I
sold a trio of Royal Nebraskans to a gentleman who recognized them in the back of my pickup at Columbus Ohio.

He told me that the University of Nebraska had become interested in and had promoted a number of the old non-APA recognized farm types of turkeys, after spotted turkeys had appeared in a Bronze flock during the 40's.

Whatever the origin of the name, I sold a lot of Royal Nebraskans and some Royal Nebraska Blues at
Lucasville, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio and Richmond, Virginia and at a few other places between 1985 and
1976.

In addition, Tom Horan shipped Royal Nebraskan poults all over the country for a number of years. With luck, someof this stock has descendants. If you know of any Nebraskan types of turkeys, please let me, Paula Johnson (of the SPPA), or the Standard Turkey Preservation Association know at once.

One last point of interest: in 1972 at the Royal Highland show at Edinborough, Scotland, I saw some
Pied (Palm) turkeys. The owner told me that in Britain, the original Pied stock had been spotted like
the Nebraska Royals, but had been replaced by or crossed with Palms and Crollwitzers until the Palm
type predominated.

(Mr. Russell is the president of Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities - SPPA - and has maintained several flocks of heritage poultry for many years. We thank him for his contribution.

 

[Tunastopper]

Here is another picture. http://www.porterturkeys.com/nebraskans.htm

 

[Randy]

No I just came across that while doing some research on turkeys and thought they sounded interesting.