Porter's Rare Heritage Turkeys |

Auburn Turkeys

This is an old variety that was listed in receipts when transporting turkeys to markets in "turkey trots" during the late 1700s and early 1800s in Philadelphia. They are sex linked and thus were important at the beginning of this century for producing poults that could be sexed at hatching. Cross breedings of Auburn toms and bronze hens will produce bronze toms and auburn hens thus making it quite easy to sex poults by color at hatch. However, this did not become a serious market requirement and they never became very popular

Auburn describes a variation in the typical bronze plumage color in which bronze is replaced with a red-brown pigmentation. At day of age, the auburn poult resembles the bronze but with black stripes replaced with a red-brown coloration. In the adult bird, the bronze pigmentation is also replaced by a red-brown color.The barring present in the primary and secondary flight feathers is red-brown and white in contrast to the black and white typical in the bronze bird. Genotype (b+b+ee) for toms and (b+b+e-) for hens. A bronze base with recessive sex-linked brown modifying genes. Basically a "Brown Bronze"

Initially when this color was first described it was noted as brown, but in 1990 Savage and Attamangkune decided that "auburn" was a more accurately descriptive name for this "brown color pattern".

. Weights are the same for Historical Bronze [35 pound toms; 19 pound hens]. More breeders are seriously needed.

Auburn Group

Note the brown and white barring replacing black and white unlike in a typical bronze

The addition of the brown gene (e) on a bronze turns all areas normally black to brown.

Newly hatched Auburn poults

Note the red brown coloration with brown stripes replacing black.

Auburn Poult price $9.50 each (Limit 6 per order)

A minimum order of 15 poults is required to be able to ship them safely so they will be able to keep each other warm enough in the box during shipping. So you may have to choose another variety or two to come up with the required number to ship. If you don't desire to place at least the minimum order of 15, we will not be able to except your request.