In general, jakes will have short (less than ½”), conical, rounded spurs, while gobblers will have longer (longer than ½”), straight, and pointed spurs. As gobblers get older, the spurs often take on a curved, hooked form.
Why is a turkey called a Jake?
Since turkeys are obviously not cats, the phrase was shortened simply to “tom.” Juvenile males are also known as “jakes,” while the young female turkeys are known as “jennys.” Part of the mating process is attributed to the tom’s ability to “gobble” loudly enough to both attract the hens and dissuade other males.
How can you tell the difference between a tom and a jake?
Jake turkey tails stick up noticeably in the middle, while toms have uniform tail feathers. Beard length also provides a noticeable distinguishing characteristic. Jake turkey beards measure about five inches or less, while the beards of toms can grow eight inches or longer.
Will a jake turkey gobble?
Yes Jakes do strut and gobble. This time of year most of the mature toms are with hens and your jakes are on the prowl.
What is considered a Jake?
Thus, a Jake will typically only be sporting a 2-4 inch beard. This can sometimes get confusing with hens in the field, as they can also sometimes have a thin, short beard, but more on that later. Toms are more mature turkeys which can grow beards up to 11 inches in length or more.
Do Jakes have beards?
Turkey Beards
As a general rule, jakes will have short beards (about 2 to 3 inches in length), while the tom turkey beard can be up to 10 inches or more (they don’t call them longbeards for nothing). Sometimes toms even get multiple beards, which can be another good sign of maturity.
Can a jake turkey breed a hen?
Chamberlain on a podcast discussing this. A big study in TX some years ago proved that most jakes can not successfully breed a hen.
What is a group of turkeys called?
A group of turkeys is called a rafter or a flock. A wild turkey’s gobble can be heard up to one mile away and is a primary means for a tom to communicate with his harem of hens.
What’s a turkey’s gobbler called?
Adult male turkeys are called gobblers. Juvenile males are called jakes. Gobblers average around 18-22 pounds and can have a wingspan of 5 feet. Adult female turkeys are called hens.
Do Jakes gobble on the roost?
A Jake will Gobble on the roost but you can tell the difference between a Jake and a mature gobbler. The Jake’s just do not have that pronounced of a gobble and its not as complete as a mature Gobblers gobble.
Can a Jake turkey have a full fan?
Mature birds do have full fans. Jakes usually have the fan with the longer tail feathers in the middle.
What is a turkey beard called?
This fleshy, bumpy skin has a name: the wattle. It’s different from the long piece of flesh that grows down from the bird’s forehead, which is called a “snood,” according to PBS. Snoods can be short, sticking up like a horn, or long, extending past the nose.
How can you tell a hen from a gobbler?
The body coloration of a gobbler is distinctly dark, almost black. In contrast, hens have a smaller, bluish-gray head, lack spurs and prominent wattles, and are brownish in appearance. Finally, gobblers strut, fan their tails and gobble; hens do not. The sex of a turkey “in hand” is readily determined.
What tastes better hen or tom turkey?
Hen vs.
Other than size, there isn’t a real difference. Some people claim toms are more flavorful.
Do female turkeys have a beard?
Rarely, toms have multiple beards, which are aligned vertically along the breast, with the longest beards on the bottom and getting smaller as they go up. Some, but not all, female turkeys also grow beards, though they top out at about 6 or 7 inches.
How can I tell if my turkeys are male or female?
The easiest way to determine the turkey’s sex is by examining the feathers on the breast and sides of the turkey. On males, these feathers have black tips. The feather tips are brown on females.
What is a Jenny turkey?
A male turkey is called a tom or a gobbler, a female turkey a hen, and a baby turkey a poult or chick. A young male turkey is called a jake and a young female is called a jenny.
What is the red thing on a turkey?
wattle
This turkey is a hefty four feet of bird, tail tip to beak. Its handsome dark and densely feathered body is topped by a bare neck. And there, dangling from the chin, is a wrinkly mass of bumpy, warty-looking red skin: the wattle.
How old is a turkey with a 10 inch beard?
Beard Length
Beards begin growing when turkeys are about 5 months old, and keep growing 4 to 5 inches annually. According to Turkey & Turkey Hunting magazine, a 2-year-old gobbler’s beard usually measures 8 to 10 inches. When it’s 3 years old, a gobbler’s beard will have grown about 14 inches.
Can Jake turkeys mate?
More specifically…they reach sexual maturity at about 10 months. Most first year males do not breed but the research is not sure if that is due to physiological or behavioral reasons (such as the more mature Gobblers kicking their butt). In domestic turkeys the first year males are very active breeders.
Can you shoot Jakes in Nebraska?
In Nebraska, it is allowable to shoot jakes during the spring turkey season.
