Wild Turkey 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.
What are the parts of a turkey called?
Here’s a rundown:
- Spurs. Both sexes have spurs, although on females, the keratinized appendages are no more than small buttons protruding from the back of the leg a few inches above the foot.
- Fan. A turkey’s fan is a prominent feature you’ll see when a tom struts.
- Beard.
- Snood.
- Caruncles.
- Dewlap.
- Wing Feathers.
- Eyes and Ears.
What is the turkey beard called?
A wattle is a fleshy flap of skin under the turkey’s chin that some people may call a dewlap. The dewlap is more prominent in males than females.
What is the spike on a turkey called?
Spurs: Bony spikes on the back of each of the turkey’s lower leg. The male will use his spurs to spar with other males. Wattle: A flap of skin under the turkey’s chin.
What is the comb on a turkey called?
A turkey does not have a comb on the top of its head. Instead, it has a fleshy growth from the base of the beak known as the snood. The snood is longer in males and hangs down over the male turkey’s beak. A turkey has a wattle under its beak and fleshy growths on the head and neck called caruncles.
What is the tuft of hair on a turkey?
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.
What is the difference between a Jake and Tom?
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.
What are turkey claws called?
Turkey Spurs
Turkey Spurs
A spur is a long talon or claw on the back of a turkey’s leg, about 2 inches above the foot.
What is a turkeys snood?
The long fleshy area that grows from a turkey’s forehead is called a ‘snood.
What is a turkey’s wattle for?
On a hot day, with the sun bearing down, the bare skin of neck and wattle helps release excess heat. Birds don’t sweat—they can’t sweat—so the turkey is otherwise trapped in its dense, dark feathers.
What is a gizzard on a turkey?
The gizzard is a strong, muscular pouch that breaks down hard foods like seeds and nuts. Birds will often swallow bits of gravel and sand, which go to the gizzard to help crush up the food.
Where is the waddle on a turkey?
The wattle is a flap of skin hanging under the chin connecting the throat and head and the snood is a highly erectile appendage emanating from the forehead. Both sexes of turkey possess caruncles, although they are more pronounced in the male.
Can you cut a roosters comb?
The comb may be removed at day-old, but it is less difficult to remove the wattles if you wait until the birds are 4-6 weeks of age. Using a sharp pair of scissors, clip the comb as close to the head as possible, following the curvature of the head. Adult birds may be dubbed between 5 and 18 weeks of age.
How do you tell a male turkey from a 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.
Do male turkeys always have a beard?
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.
What is the feather sticking out on a turkey?
That one long feather you see hanging down on the female turkey breasts is called a “beard.” It’s actually a bunch/bundle of long skinny feathers. Adult male turkeys and a small percentage of the females apparently have beards.
Is a male turkey called a Jake?
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.
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.
Should I shoot a jake turkey?
According to the NWTF, there’s no biological reason that exists on whether or not hunters should kill a jake. If a jake is taken legally, no biological backlash comes from harvesting that bird, other than reducing the potential of 2 year olds that could be in the area the following year.
Do female turkeys puff up?
Females or males inflate their plumage to intimidate a predator threatening their brood. So, whenever turkeys sense a threat, be it human or animal, they can use this behavior to show the predator that it is likely to go wrong if it decides to attack!
How do you tell if a turkey is a tom?
Watch for the turkey to fan out its tail.
Male turkeys frequently raise their tails up into the shape of a fan. If you see fanning happen, it’s likely that you are looking at a male. On the other hand, a female turkey will always keep her tail down and won’t fan it out.