Slate, Self Blue and Black in a breeder's color model

Porter's breeder reference describes Slate on a black base with one copy of dominant slate dilution, producing an ashy blue surface with dark flecks. Self Blue, also called Lavender in this context, carries two copies and is more uniformly pale; Black lacks that slate dilution. The names describe different outcomes within a connected breeding model, not three different turkey species.

Under that model, Slate paired with Slate can produce Slate, Self Blue and Black offspring. Self Blue paired with Black produces Slate, while Self Blue paired with Self Blue maintains the paler form. These outcomes assume the specified parental genetics. Similar blue appearances produced on other backgrounds should not be silently assigned the same genotype. A breeder's color reference is useful for understanding selection; it is not evidence of identical performance or ancestry in every blue turkey.