Albino Turkeys ?!?!?!?

[iminrut]

Hey guys, I don't know much about albinos, but I do know the chances are rare.......but what are the chances of running into three possible albinos in the same group ??

The other day, I was just out driving some backroads....had some time to burn....and while just looking at wildlife as I poked along, I came across a group of wild turkeys, but this group was different......out of the 7 or 8 turkeys, 3 of them were as white as snow.......I grabbed my binos first, and one looked to be a hen and the other two were toms......everything was pinkish white to red, as far as skin tone goes...except the beards on the toms appeared to be black....

Now I don't know for sure that they were albinos, and they didn't give me much more of a chance to watch them.....I was able to grab my camera and snap some pics, as they headed for "the hills"........it was a neat encounter, whether they are or aren't..........Clay

 

[IdahoBugler]

That is awesome. If I were you I would try and secure rights to hunt his land. Nice pics and thanks for showing us.

 

[Bambistew]

Look like domestic birds. Lots of 'farm raised' turkeys are white like that.

 

[mdcrossbow]

I wounder if they are bird's pardoned by the President and are in a relocation program.

 

[shoots-straight]

escapees from a butterball farm. More wild than the real ones.

 

[MarvB]

Nope, anything touched ubiquitously by this administration would have a rather distinct bullseye on its back...these bird are just plain ol' white!

 

[noharleyyet]

Is that a beard on the whitey in the last frame...or is it the 'done' indicator?

 

[iminrut]

Look like domestic birds. Lots of 'farm raised' turkeys are white like that.

The last time I ever knew of anybody in a 30 mile radius having farm raised turkeys was nearly 20 years ago....so I'm fairly sure that they couldn't be that....maybe some of the bloodline still exists enough to produce some if there were some cross breeding back then ??

One thing is for sure, they were just as wild as the natuall colored ones.....there were "hoofin" it for cover.....

 

[iminrut]

escapees from a butterball farm. More wild than the real ones.

That's the thing...there are no turkey farms in this part of the state.....and 20+ years ago it was kinda common for some of the old time farmers to still raise chickens and turkeys for their own use, but it just doesn't happen anymore.......

 

[iminrut]

Is that a beard on the whitey in the last frame...or is it the 'done' indicator?

Me thinks it's a little of both....

 

[danr55]

Don't turkey migrate like other birds? Why would 30 miles be a long way to travel?

 

[iminrut]

That's a good question....I guess they cold migrate in if they do cover that kind of ground ???? I don't know ???

 

[mdcrossbow]

I know the easterns will stick to about a 1 mile radius or the flocks I know of do.

 

[Wally Dog]

Someone in their genetic line got a little too close to the local turkey barn. Throw back coloring. Kill them and get them out of the gene pool!
WD

 

[Bwana]

Not sure where you saw these iminrut but I took one a number of years back in unit 30 that looked similar except that it was a young of the year bird taken in the fall. In the flock out of which mine came there were two all white birds and one slightly gray bird.

The situation where mine was taken is just as you described with no tame turkeys for miles around.