Narragansett

The Narragansett is an American heritage turkey developed in Rhode Island and nearby New England, named for the Narragansett Bay region. It descends from domestic turkeys shaped on farms after early crosses involving local wild-type birds and European domestic stock. The color pattern resembles Bronze, but the coppery tones are replaced by steel gray, black, tan, and white, giving the bird a softer barred appearance. Once an important market turkey in the Northeast, it was admitted to the American poultry standard in the nineteenth century.

Narragansetts are kept today for heritage meat, exhibition, and breed conservation. They are medium to large turkeys that generally grow more slowly than broad-breasted commercial birds, but many lines forage well and can reproduce naturally. Breeding flocks need room to move, dry shelter, roosts, and strong predator protection. Selection usually emphasizes the correct gray-based pattern, body width, fertility, and calm handling temperament. Buyers seeking true Narragansett stock should distinguish documented heritage birds from mixed turkeys that merely show a similar color.

Colors: Black, Blue Slate, Bourbon Red, Bronze, Buff, Chocolate, Mottled, Narragansett, Penciled, Pied, Red Bronze, Royal Palm, Slate, Steel Gray, Tan, White