They also have a “beard”—a tuft of black, hair-like strands—protruding from their chest. On adult gobblers (called toms), the beard can be 7-9 inches or more in length, but on young gobblers (called jakes) the beard is <6 inches long. [embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=EIKRQzQnQKE[/embed]
How do you tell if a turkey has a beard?
A Wild Turkey’s “beard” is the tuft that looks a bit like a miniature horsetail dangling from its breast. Year-old males have beards up to about five inches long, while toms three or more years old can have beards that are 10 inches or longer.
What is considered a good beard on a turkey?
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.
Do all turkey have beards?
Male turkeys, called gobblers – and some female turkeys, called hens – have beards. Only about 10 to 20 percent of hens grow beards, and it’s likely a genetic mutation, according to Sciencing.com. The beard’s function is not known with certainty, but it might influence mate selection by hens.
What color is a turkey’s beard?
A beard gets its black color from melanin, a pigment that colors and strengthens feathers. The newly emerging beards of young turkeys contain little melanin, so the bristles are amber-colored. Even when a gobbler is 2, his beard will retain those original amber tips because they haven’t broken off yet.
How rare is a bearded hen turkey?
Biology tells us that some girl turkeys do wear beards — under 10% of the population some biologists will generally say. Some will specifically suggest it’s as low as 2 to 4 percent. If present, those beards are usually no longer than eight inches, and often thin.
How rare is a 4 bearded turkey?
“Multiple beards on a bird is not a common occurrence, with estimates suggesting that less than 10% of toms sport more than one beard,” said Dr. Mike Chamberlain, our favorite wild turkey researcher, from the University of Georgia.
How old is a turkey with a 3 inch beard?
And for a bird in hand, you can tell whether the bird is a jake, 2-year-old gobbler or an older gobbler. A jake, obviously, will have a short — typically 3- to 4-inch — beard. The beard of a 2-year-old gobbler will have substantial amber coloration at the tips.
How old is a turkey with 2 beards?
Knowing this, you can be fairly certain a gobbler with a beard of less than 5″ is a one year old bird.
| Beard Length | Tip Color | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 0″ to 4″ | Amber | Younger than 1 year |
| 4″ to 5″ | Amber | 1 year |
| 8″ to 10″ | Amber | 2 years |
| 10″ plus | Black | 3 years or older |
How old is a turkey with a 9 inch beard?
4 years old
Some say that any bird over 20 pounds is at least three years old. Others say that a 9-inch beard is a sure sign that your turkey is at least 4 years old.
What age does a turkey grow a beard?
roughly five months old
As biology tells us, the beard starts to grow when the young male turkey (or in some cases, female) is roughly five months old. That bird will add five inches annually on average. And a legal fall gobbler roughly 1.5 years old will often have a 6- to 7-inch beard.
Can a female turkey have a beard?
Very rarely, females can have beards. Turkeys can also be classified as juveniles or adults based on several features listed below.
Do farm raised turkeys have beards?
A distinguishing feature of both domesticated and wild turkeys is the black fibrous hairs that hang down from the chest away from the body plumage. Biologists and hunters call those hairs beards. A turkey’s beard can be long enough to touch the ground. Beards grow on all male turkeys or gobblers and grow on some hens.
Do turkeys lose their beards every year?
Unlike the rest of the body feathers which undergo 5 molts throughout an eastern’s lifetime, the beard does not molt. It becomes visible when the turkey is 6-7 months of age, and it continues to grow throughout their lifetime.
How do you tell if it’s a bearded hen?
Check for iridescent, black-tipped breast feathers; hen breast feathers are more dull, and brown-tipped. 3. Observe the beard thickness. Hen beards are usually thinner than gobbler beards.
What is considered a trophy turkey?
Any bird with a beard might be called a trophy: jake, adult tom and even a fall turkey hen wearing one. For turkey hunters, most are memorable for many reasons (even those you don’t kill).
What percentage of female turkeys have beards?
Approximately 10 percent of hens possess a “beard,” or elongated chest feathers. Hens do not strut or fan their tails. Females can lay from nine to 13 eggs, which they incubate for around 28 days. Well-nourished females in good physical condition nest earlier than females in poor condition.
Can a bearded hen breed?
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.
How rare is a double bearded turkey?
Typical gobblers have only one beard that continues to grow throughout their life. About two percent of gobblers have multiple beards.
What is the longest turkey beard ever recorded?
Location: Canatlán, Durango, Mexico. Clyde Neely, a Texas resident, travelled south of the border and took this record-book Gould’s on April 10, 2006, using a box and slate call. 14.0625 inches is a long turkey beard anywhere.
What is the biggest wild turkey ever shot?
37.61 pounds
About a week after Guess registered his bird it was confirmed by the National Wild Turkey Federation that his in fact is the world’s largest wild turkey ever harvested. It was taken in the State of Kentucky in Lyon County. Its official weight was 37.61 pounds.