All,
I wish I took more pictures but I only got the one. I am not the greatest at sexing a bird and was hoping you could help. Unfortunately the bird I shot (the head was hit hard so was all bloody and not much left to see) so that was out for identifying. It had a FULL gobbler type fan (not jake with the longer center feathers). It had NO spurs or even spur bumps. It had about a 5inch, thin, beard. Here is the kicker it was a VERY small and light weight bird. Definitely hen weight. Maybe 10-12lbs... and gobblers where I am are typically in the 20lb range. So im thinking maybe a bearded hen but the fan looks more like a male to me but I have no idea really and if a male why no spurs and so light weight? again im very new to turkey hunting. Thanks!
Looks like a bearded hen to me.
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The brown tipped breast feathers give it away, bearded hen.
You mention full fan, did it strut?
Not that a hen can't strut its not common. it certainly looks like hen plumage
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 15, 2017, 09:39:52 AM
You mention full fan, did it strut?
Not that a hen can't strut its not common. it certainly looks like hen plumage
yes and no...it didn't puff up fully but it did fan it's tail...our law is simply must have a beard. Turkey hunting is pretty hard in my area (not a lot of land to hunt) so I take what I can get. As soon as I saw beard I fired without hesitation to determine sex, size, spurs etc. How rare are bearded hens?
bearded hen
Quote from: bpsmag1026 on May 15, 2017, 09:30:46 AM
The brown tipped breast feathers give it away, bearded hen.
Yep!
Hen
Definitely a bearded hen. Brown feather tips give it away as stated above. Adult hens have a "full" fan but it's quite a bit smaller than a tom. Toms can be found with no spurs but the feather tips will be black and will be a lot more 'shiny'. I suspect the head would be a giveaway if we could see it. The weight is also a giveaway.
As far as strutting....I had a Merriam's hen strutting at 20 yards last season that was frustrated she couldn't find the hen yelping at her.
Quote from: Bigeclipse on May 15, 2017, 09:44:24 AM
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 15, 2017, 09:39:52 AM
You mention full fan, did it strut?
Not that a hen can't strut its not common. it certainly looks like hen plumage
yes and no...it didn't puff up fully but it did fan it's tail...our law is simply must have a beard. Turkey hunting is pretty hard in my area (not a lot of land to hunt) so I take what I can get. As soon as I saw beard I fired without hesitation to determine sex, size, spurs etc. How rare are bearded hens?
bearded hens are a genetic trait so some area with the gene it will be much more prominent than other areas that might have very few. I've seen figures range from 1 in 5 to 1 in 20 but not sure if I've ever seen concrete scientific number and that would still very from where the study was done. I would say its uncommon but not rare the same way I would term a gobbler with more than one beard.
bearded hen
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 15, 2017, 10:00:49 AM
Quote from: Bigeclipse on May 15, 2017, 09:44:24 AM
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 15, 2017, 09:39:52 AM
You mention full fan, did it strut?
Not that a hen can't strut its not common. it certainly looks like hen plumage
yes and no...it didn't puff up fully but it did fan it's tail...our law is simply must have a beard. Turkey hunting is pretty hard in my area (not a lot of land to hunt) so I take what I can get. As soon as I saw beard I fired without hesitation to determine sex, size, spurs etc. How rare are bearded hens?
bearded hens are a genetic trait so some area with the gene it will be much more prominent than other areas that might have very few. I've seen figures range from 1 in 5 to 1 in 20 but not sure if I've ever seen concrete scientific number and that would still very from where the study was done. I would say its uncommon but not rare the same way I would term a gobbler with more than one beard.
thanks! I have been hunting turkeys for 3 years now. Have got 2 toms in the springs, 2 hens in the falls, and now this bearded hen (kind of cool)
I,ve seen hens stutt only bearded hen i ever killed stutted when she came in last day of season an vegetation was thick wouldnt have killed her if I had seen her better but wasnt a problem our law states bearded bird so she was legal
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Approx 10% of hens have a beard. You can id your Fall birds the same way. Look at the breast feathers to determine sex because young jakes will be in Fall flocks. Congrats on a good trophy.
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Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 15, 2017, 09:39:52 AM
You mention full fan, did it strut?
Not that a hen can't strut its not common. it certainly looks like hen plumage
I've seen 2 hens do the full strut whip the tar outta the decoy dance this year. Times are changing amigo, it's gonna be a woman's world. ;D
Yea definitely a bearded hen and of course it has a full fan if it's an adult hen. Dont see them strut often but sometimes they do, they have their pecking order with the other hens too, she was probably a boss
Dead hen for sure....
Bearded hens are pretty common around here. Kinda like a woman with a mustache. I've seen some bearded women on my route that will make you shiver.
Quote from: Cottonmouth on May 16, 2017, 05:32:39 PM
Bearded hens are pretty common around here. Kinda like a woman with a mustache. I've seen some bearded women on my route that will make you shiver.
:TooFunny:
Quote from: Cottonmouth on May 16, 2017, 05:32:39 PM
Bearded hens are pretty common around here. Kinda like a woman with a mustache. I've seen some bearded women on my route that will make you shiver.
LOL :newmascot:
Yup. One glance. Definitely a hen. Easy ID.