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The feather colours of certain kinds of turkeys can predict how they cope with life on the farm.

Raised for their meat and eggs, domesticated Nigerian indigenous turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are born with either black, white or lavender 鈥� also called bronze 鈥� plumes. Despite descending from the same genetic line, black turkeys display the boldest and most adventurous behaviour, while lavender ones often act fearfully. Birds with white plumage appear to lie somewhere in between, says at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, in Nigeria.

The findings could guide farmers to customise their management techniques to the particular needs of the differently coloured turkeys so as to improve their welfare, says Durosaro.

Durosaro and his colleagues ran five standardised fearfulness tests on 75 turkey chicks 鈥� known as poults. The animals came from the same genetic line and included 13 males and 12 females of each colour. The birds underwent testing every other day from ages 7 to 16 days.

For some fearfulness tests 鈥� in which, for instance, the birds were held upside down by their legs and the amount they flapped their wings was recorded 鈥� plumage and leg colour didn鈥檛 seem to make any difference.

However, for one test 鈥� in which birds were placed in a dark box with one small exit hole 鈥� the black turkeys were five times faster than the white and lavender birds to escape. This result suggests that black birds are bolder and less fearful, says Durosaro.

And in another test, in which the researchers placed the birds one by one in a large open box, the black turkeys showed boldness by exploring more regions of the box than the lavender turkeys. White turkeys explored slightly more than either black or lavender birds. But, overall, black birds did appear to be the boldest, and attempted to escape from the box seven times more often than birds of the other colours. The lavender poults, in contrast, essentially spent their time 鈥減acing in a small area鈥�, says Durosaro.

The differences may be related to accidental side effects of domestication, combined with genetics. Colour genes seem to be linked to certain behaviours, and humans probably 鈥渋ndirectly selected鈥� for colour during the domestication process 鈥� preferring animals that were tamer and more productive. Fearful turkeys are not only harder to approach, but they also gain weight at a slower rate and produce fewer eggs, he says.

Even so, selective breeding hasn鈥檛 eliminated the more fearful animals completely 鈥� and the new study doesn鈥檛 suggest that it should. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 throw them away,鈥� says Durosaro.

Instead, farmers can help the lavender turkeys cope with the stress of domestic life through nutritional and environmental enrichment. That includes providing vitamin C 鈥� which earlier research suggests may 鈥� and creating as natural an environment as possible.

In addition, farmers could try broadcasting classical music into the farmyard, which 鈥渁ids the [lavender birds] a lot鈥�, he says. Durosaro also thinks toys can help. Rubber balls, ropes and swings provide distractions from fears, he says.

鈥淲elfare is a continuum,鈥� says Durosaro. 鈥淚f you want to improve the welfare of an animal, you have to consider all the aspects for that individual.鈥�