Narragansett Turkey is an American heritage turkey breed developed in the Narragansett Bay area of Rhode Island, believed to descend from crosses between domestic European turkey stock brought by colonists and wild native turkeys, fixing a distinctive steel gray, black, tan and white plumage pattern. It was an important commercial turkey breed in New England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, valued for good meat quality, calm temperament and strong foraging ability suited to free range farming. Like other heritage turkey breeds, Narragansett was largely displaced from commercial production in the mid twentieth century by the faster growing Broad Breasted White Turkey, and its numbers declined to a small population conserved chiefly by heritage breed organizations including the Livestock Conservancy. It is raised today mainly on small farms and by heritage poultry keepers for its historical significance and meat quality.
In the Other Atlases
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.