White Turkey Response

ABOUT 25 YEARS AGO, on my grandfather’s farm in Wilson Co. along the Cibolo Creek near La Vernia, TX, there was the largest group of gobblers I had ever seen before or since roaming around. There was probably two dozen gobblers, and the gobbler that seemed to be dominant was completely white. Never got close enough to tell if it was an albino or just simply a white color phase.

About 20 years ago on a deer lease in Zavala Co. we had a large flock of hens that had both white and normally colored feathers in quite a few of the birds. We called them the Zebra flock.

Last Spring, on the side of a farm to market road near the Cibolo Creek in Guadalupe Co. I saw a small flock of hens (6-8 adults) and numerous poults. One adult hen was completely white, and the other adult hens had varying amounts of white feathers mixed in with normally colored feathers much like the Zebra flock in Zavala Co.

All pretty cool, and God does seem to admire amazing variety.

Bill Wyatt

HEY CHESTER, I just read your article. We saw and harvested a white “Rio” on a property east of Paint Rock Tx, several years ago (probably 15). The property we hunted bordered O.H. Ivie Reservoir and was home to a larger turkey roost.

There were hundreds of “normal” wild turkeys in the area. The white hen was mixed in a pack of at least two dozen other “normal” birds and was seen several times, before harvested. We wondered if it was a domestic turkey that had lost its way, but it looked and acted like the other wild birds and was the same size as the rest of the group, so we figured it simply a freak color phase. 

The hunter that harvested the bird intended to have it mounted; however, I believe it was ruined in a freezer power outage.

Jay Gurry

BACK IN THE 1950s, my dad had a “white feather problem” on an island where he managed the wild game.

Unfortunately, a flock of white domestic turkeys was kept on hand to provide turkeys for eating purposes. The free ranging domestic hens mated with wild toms native to the Island, and problems began.

The poults all had some white feathers. To rectify the problem, the flock of white turkeys was eliminated, and over a period of years, any turkey with white feathers was eliminated.

Anonymous By Request

WE HAVE CAPTURED pictures of a white turkey on our lease at Johnson City and I thought you might like to see them.

Richard Berry

Editor: Guys, I can’t tell you how exciting it is to read these emails. These types of stories are important because they are the ones that keep us excited about the wild. When someone hears of a white turkey at hunting camp it becomes the talk of the season. Thanks so much for sharing your stories.

Email your comments to: editor@fishgame.com

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