Most experts agree that a hen turkey is better than a tom, but it is probably a matter of personal preference. Hens are generally smaller than tom turkeys of the same age. Hens weigh less than sixteen pounds while toms always weigh over sixteen pounds. What is the tastiest turkey […]
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. […]
To sex a turkey, check to see if it has a beard of stiff feathers running down its chest, which will only be present on a male turkey. Alternatively, you can look at the color of the turkey’s feathers. If it has colorful feathers, it’s likely a male, but if […]
The red fleshy bits hanging off turkeys’ beaks are called “snoods,” not to be confused with wattles, the fleshy bits under the neck that Richard the lawyer on Ally McBeal fetishized. When a male turkey is strutting, the snood engorges with blood and extends to hang down over the beak. […]
The beard is sometimes thought to be only a male turkey characteristic, but some hens also have beards, often 7 or 8 inches long, and thin, with a kink near the middle. Bearded hens also breed, lay eggs and raise broods. As far as we know, bearded hens are just […]
Research further shows that jakes can only rarely be successful at breeding a hen and fertilizing a clutch. Additionally, turkeys move around a great deal and natural mortality takes more jakes than hunters do,” says Lusk. Can Jake turkeys mate? More specifically…they reach sexual maturity at about 10 months. Most […]
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, […]
Wattles. Wild Turkey And there, dangling from the chin, is a wrinkly mass of bumpy, warty-looking red skin: the wattle. Why have a wattle? Wattles are an adaptive feature that come in handy in several ways. On a hot day, with the sun bearing down, the bare skin of neck […]
Wattles. In the most general sense, wattles refer to fleshy appendages hanging from the neck or chin of many types of animals. Pigs, goats, chickens, and turkeys are all capable of growing wattles. With pigs and goats, the wattle is covered in hair and has no known biological function. What […]
Osceola turkeys are a subspecies of the eastern wild turkey. The season starts March 6 for Keith Kelly. This dark turkey with black wings that have small white bands on them and dark-brown-tipped tail feathers lives in south Florida. How do I know if my turkey is Osceola? Because there’s […]
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. […]
The sex designation of “hen” (female) or “tom” (male) turkey is optional on the label, and is an indication of size. Toms are larger but both toms and hens should be equally tender. Why are they called tom turkeys? Rumor has it that Ben Franklin was mad at Thomas Jefferson […]
hen. 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 a mom turkey called? henA juvenile female turkey […]
12) Baby turkeys, called poults, eat berries, seeds and insects, while adults have a more varied diet that can include acorns and even small reptiles. What is baby turkey called? poultsDuring the first 4 weeks of life, baby turkeys, called poults, are unable to fly and rely on their mother […]
Tom. Hens are female turkeys and toms are males. Toms are, on average, larger, so if you’re going for a turkey over 18 pounds, you’ll likely end up with a tom, whereas if you’re looking for a turkey 14 pounds or under, you’re likely to buy a hen. Other than […]