The Buff or Jersey Buff is a breed of
domestic turkey named for its
buff-colored plumage.
History
Accepted into the
Standard of Perfection by the
American Poultry Association in 1874, the original strain of Buff turkey was used in the development of the
Bourbon Red breed, but had died out entirely by the early 20th century.
This was partly due to the difficulty in
selectively breeding the proper color pattern, and also to the rise of new commercial breeds on the market.
In the 1940s, interest in a buff turkey was revived, and a new strain of the breed — called the
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
Buff after where it was developed — was created. Still, the
Broad Breasted White
The Broad Breasted White is commercially the most widely used breed of domesticated turkey. These birds have shorter breast bones and larger breasts, sometimes rendering them unable to breed without human assistance (typically via artificial inse ...
continued to edge out all other
heritage turkey breeds and today the Buff is critically endangered, according to the
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
It has also been included in
Slow Food USA's
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...
.
The breed is most popular in the U.S., but is also found in the U.K. and Australia.
Characteristics
The Buff has a very light or reddish brown plumage, which is its defining characteristic. A trait that drew interest from breeders is the fact that the lighter feathers of the breed present an easier, cleaner carcass. However, it has not been aggressively selected for production characteristics, and is thus significantly smaller than many modern breeds. Young toms weigh around 21 pounds and mature hens weigh roughly 12 pounds.
See also
*
List of turkey breeds
*
Heritage turkey
References
Turkey breeds originating in the United States
Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy
Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist
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