childers

how do i tell the differnce between a male and female turkey???


this is my first time turkey hunting nad im hunting on my friends land and my deer hunting area. so any help would be ablidged

mobow

Tom's have beards, but be careful there, I've seen many bearded hens in my day as well. Toms have red, white and blue heads and strut and gobble, hens don't. Well, I've seen hens kind of strut, but it's a dominance move, not a display move. Toms are a lot darker black than hens, hens are more of a brown....Toms are typically larger as well.

You can tell a jake from an adult tom when they strut. Thejake will have 2 or 3 tail feathers in the center of the fan taller than the rest. Adult tom's will have even fans.

Washington Hunter

Male and female turkeys are easily indentifiable from one another. A male turkey's head will be either blue or red or a combination of the two. A hen, or female turkey's head will be a dull grey or brown. Male turkeys also have beards and spurs, hens [most often] do not. Occasionally a hen will have a beard, but in most states a beared bird [regardless of gender] is legal.



A jake's fan will have a few feathers in the middle of the fan that are slightly taller than the rest. When a bird is in full strut you'll notice a difference between a jake and a tom.

Bullet Hole Bailey

Wow...........i have never seen a turkey with some colors like that one on the right before.

Matt/TN

heres a bearded hen

Washington Hunter

You know, BHB... I said the same thing when I saw her yesterday morning. I was only about 15 yards away from these birds when I snapped the pictures, I kept trying to make her grow some sort of beard so I could get her during season, but no luck. She stayed a hen!

nubo

Here in Ontario the Reg's specify that you may take 1 bearded bird ,so if the hen has a beard ,you are legal to take her .

nubo

hatchet jack

I will not shoot a beared hen. If you think about it you could be killing more than one turkey if the hen is already bred from a Tom. Let it walk in the spring. Leave it for the Fall!!

Hatchet Jack

childers

theres no trukey fall season here

SwampCollie

The main way that I tell the difference is by the beard length. A short beard (less than 5 inches) means a young turkey around here. But, the way they act and the company they keep is another give away. Also depends where you live. If you live in the north (like where there are moose and cold icy winters), turkey's will typically not have the longer beards as the ice will break them up in the winter.

Jakes typically hang out with other jakes, while Gobblers in the spring are often alone, or perhaps with one or two other gobblers (and always looking for hens). Also, I have only once in my life seen a jake strut. If you have lots of other longbeards in the area, he will learn in short order that strutting for a hen is the equivalent of goosing a big biker gang member's wife.... its a good way to have your butt kicked. So that behavior is typically not seen.

I personally look at shooting jakes about like shooting basket rack bucks or 2 year old bucks.... can't have big ones if you shoot'em all when they are young. Heck, unless a two year old turkey puts on a good show I usually won't shoot them on our place. Nothing wrong with it of course, just how we do things.

Now telling a 2 year old turkey apart from an older bird is MUCH more difficult. Easiest way I have found is by the length of the spurs, which of course, you cannot measure until you have bird in hand, which they usually don't hold still for. Typically there again, its behavior (and in some ways the way that they gobble) that will signify an older bird.

Long story short (incase you are still reading my rambling), to quote Chris Ashely...."When in doubt.... shoot the puffy one." Killing the dominent bird is always a positive thing, as it will create chaos in the pecking order. More birds gobbling and struggling for the dominent patriarch position. The dominent bird is typically the largest of the lot anyway, not unlike deer.