Totally white gobbler… Your thoughts?

[YoungGobbler]

I see some white gobblers posted on FB once in a while, here and there... I don't believe these are natural, native turkeys, that are albinos... I know about smoke phase and I these are real and natural. But what about those pure white ones? What's your thoughts?

[zelmo1]

Pure albinos do happen. Most are a domestic/wild hybrid. I shot one last year. He came in gobbling behind 3 hens, spitten and drummin. I never saw a bird like that before. The biologist was really excited. He took a ride in my truck, the turkey, not the biologist, lol.  Z

[blake_08]

I see some white gobblers posted on FB once in a while, here and there... I don't believe these are natural, native turkeys, that are albinos... I know about smoke phase and I these are real and natural. But what about those pure white ones? What's your thoughts?

I share your skepticism. I know albinos exist all throughout the animal kingdom, but I have a hard time believing that all of these white turkeys are 100% wild turkeys. Of course, this is just my opinion and I don't have the facts or formal education to back it up. One point that I think about is, there are, by far, more deer in this country than turkeys, but I see way more white turkeys killed than white deer. I've seen 4 white turkeys killed just this year. It really makes me no difference though, if the hunter is happy with his white turkey then I'm happy!

Also, I don't personally think I've ever seen anyone shoot one of these white gobblers that were not in Eastern turkey territory.

[Dougas]

Most pure white turkeys are not albino. They are leucistic. For them to be albino, the eyes need to b pink.

Pink eyes equal albino.
Dark eyes equal leucistic.

[Dougas]

Both can and do occur naturally in wild birds.

[GobbleNut]

I am certain white wild turkeys exist...and are most likely more prevalent in some places than in others.  For me to make a judgement on any specific bird, I would have to have more information about where it was killed. For instance, I would be more skeptical of a white gobbler (or hen) killed in the woods a few hundred yards from a turkey farm than I would of one being killed in the middle of, say, the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico (which I have seen pictures of one that was supposedly shot there, as I recall). 

The odds in both cases of a white gobbler being a truly wild turkey are quite different. Overall, I tend to be in the camp that there was possibly an escapee from the local butterball factory that found himself/herself in the company of a willing wild bird prior to becoming dinner for the first bobcat or coyote that fortuitously happened upon him/her afterwards.     

[jdl80]

I think it's more common than we think, they just get "got" quicker in the woods. My neighborhood is infested with peacocks. Every year there's about 3-5 all white males and the occasional female hatched. Being feral neighborhood "pets" they have a better chance at survival.  The population is somewhere around 100-150 birds give or take. 

[zelmo1]

Worst tasting bird I ever shot. Crop was full of crickets and spruce needles. It was like eating a christmass tree    Z

[YoungGobbler]

Pure albinos do happen. Most are a domestic/wild hybrid. I shot one last year. He came in gobbling behind 3 hens, spitten and drummin. I never saw a bird like that before. The biologist was really excited. He took a ride in my truck, the turkey, not the biologist, lol.  Z

In the end, what did the bioilogist said? Did he gave you a feedback on wheter it was a domestic escaped or a true wild white?

[YoungGobbler]

Worst tasting bird I ever shot. Crop was full of crickets and spruce needles. It was like eating a christmass tree    Z

Worst tasting bird I ever shot. Crop was full of crickets and spruce needles. It was like eating a christmass tree    Z

He hadn't found a feeder and had no clue what to eat... 

[zelmo1]

I was almost 3 miles from my truck and he was heavy getting out. If I knew he tasted that bad I would have shot a Jake, lol

[land cruiser]

Saw a white feathered hen over the weekend. Season starts tomorrow, wish it was a tom. Would totally preserve one through taxidermy of harvested.

[dzsmith]

Growing up we had royal palm turkeys ...I've personally seen our royal palm gobbler aka "Harold" breed a wild hen..... back then a wild turkey coming in the yard was a relatively normal thing.... Those days DO NOT exist anymore there . Anyway , wouldn't you know about 2 years later a white and black "smoke" hen was in the local wild flock..... looking just like a royal palm. People will argue .... I saw the gobbler breed a wild eastern hen.... And 2 years later theres an adult smoke phase hen in the flock.... It is what it is .... Pretty undeniable. On a positive note that hen lived a very long time which was encouraging ....kinda easy to identify.needless to say turkeys are now borderline extinct in that area from overhunting and human encroachment

[Neill_Prater]

I saw a true albino hen in Kansas many years ago. She was close enough that I could see the pink eyes.

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[Marc]

I am an avid waterfowl hunter...  I have seen literally millions of birds...  Killed a handful of leucistic birds (all young birds).  I have seen one duck that was albino in flight (killed by a fellow hunter in the area), and had a friend that did kill an albino ruddy duck (verified by biologist).  True albinism in nature is rare, and a true albino animal living long enough to be killed by a hunter is extremely rare.

The odds of an albino turkey surviving long enough to be shot is extremely slim...  Poor camouflage, likely poor vision, possibly poor hearing...  They are in all likelihood an inferior animal.  Outside of poor vision and possibly poor hearing, the simple fact of being white precludes them from living long lives.

Many of the photos I have seen of white birds being killed are appear larger than average...  Which would to me point to a domestic cross...
 
I would guess that true wild melanistic birds are far more commonly that true wild albino birds...

And to GobbleNut's point, it is more likely that a white bird in an Urban area has some domestic genes...  It is also more likely that a true albino bird would have a much higher chance of success in an urban area with less predators and no hunting pressure....  And thus more likely to pass on their genes to offspring...

So while I agree that that if I saw a white bird in an urban area, I would assume domestic genetics, it is also true that a true albino strain would likely be more successful in an urban area.

Smokey phase/leucistic birds have a higher chance of success, but still not high...  More susceptible to predation and hunting pressure.  A true albino is a physically inferior animal that is high susceptible to predation (human or otherwise).

Personally I think some of the smokey phase birds are very aesthetically pleasing, but I do not have the same appreciation of the all white birds...  I would be more likely to kill a white bird to take it out of the breeding gene pool than as a trophy.  Albino or not, I simply do not find the all white birds to be nearly as aesthetically pleasing as a natural bird.

Interesting topic....