The Blue Slates are very interesting, This variety was not used on a large corporate basis, but was one of the colors that was used by farmers to distinguish a flock of turkeys from a neighbor's flock and, thus, did have a market value when more turkeys were being raised on individual farms than on large corporate farms. The Slate was accepted by the American Poultry Association in 1874.

The color is difficult to balance because the standards are not clear as to how much dots of black called splash is acceptable. I have found that if the hens have some splash and the toms should match. Once this is achieved the poults become less susceptible to blindness. (In my experience)

 I will attempt to explain what can happen in breeding this color. First, I will try to define each color that occurs. A Slate is also called a Splash and is slate or ashy blue with specks of black scattered over the feathers. The Blue is more of a solid, dull, grayish-blue with the hens a lighter bluish gray. The Black is just that, black. When breeding Blue to Blue, the results are turkeys of three different colors: Slate, Blue, and Black. When breeding Slate to Slate, the results are just Slates and Slates will breed true. When breeding the Blue to Black, both Blues and Blacks result with no Slates. When breeding the Black to Black, just Blacks result, which breed true.