I saw a Tom today with an orangish beard, the tip was darker, but definitely orangy. Kind of translucent. Is this a genetic thing or environmental? Definitely different, I like oddities. Now I have to find out. Any info is appreciated. Thanks, Al
Frost bit
Young gobs can have translucent amber, but usually on tips. Melanin deficiency can cause light beard colors. May be something else I havent heard of. Maybe he was following the utility locator painting orange on the ground lol.
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Killed a jake with a blonde beard once. Always thought on toms the "orange" rings were from a bird that experienced beard rot from a winter freeze.
It's a melanin deficiency. I have read it's a dietary issue at some point during growth. I have also heard it's caused by parasites. I killed a gobbler in a burnt over area that had a big orange band in his beard. My initial thought was he drug it through a hot spot after the burn. I did some reading and found out it was a melanin deficiency and nothing to do with the burn. As I stated, there are a few different theories on what causes the deficiency.
Killed a few with orange or blonde rings int the beard. I've read also that it was some diet deficiency at that time in the Gobblers life
This Gobbler had a normal black beard with two bands of reddish orange , odd (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190329/4110957b3fb11f8c8449617a821d9a30.jpg)
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Good info post
Years ago my mother in law was telling me there were two orange beards coming into the yard , naturally I didn't really believe it . So she sent me a couple of pictures of two mature gobblers with orange beards in her yard . Next trip down I saw them myself , 8 - 9 inch orange beards swinging . Entire beards very orange , visible from the distance . This was very late winter , thought I would target one of them in the spring . She saw them a little longer , season came and haven't seen them since . I am sure other people saw them . Been watching thinking genetics and might see some more , none . Asked A department personnel and he stated probably crossed with domestic , these birds were all Rio and besides , I haven't seen orange beards on domestic. Years have passed , I still look for one. I took the picture to work , maybe I will come across it .
Did it look anything like this? I shot this bird several years ago. Have some others that have a little of this just at the tip but this one is pretty "orange" the whole way through.
(https://i.postimg.cc/4yFCXvvR/FC68-C418-4-BCF-4-CF4-9925-C7-BF3-B4-C2-EBA.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
That beard display is pretty cool Zeke6685, how did you make it?
I cut the plastic off of a spent hull, usually the one used to kill the bird and drill a small hole in the primer just big enough to thread in a small screw eye into. Then hot glue the beard into the brass part of the hull. Clean the spurs up and clear coat them and thread them onto a piece of leather rope with a cpl wooden beads and the beard. Not too elaborate but I like them, nice way to keep the beards, Spurs, and shell from one hunt all together. I have them all hanging on a cpl pieces of old barn board and I think they look pretty cool.
Thanks for the info. It bet it would also look pretty neat under the tail fan of the bird that was taken.
Zeke's was the closest. At a distance I guess it could have been grayish. I have a mission now. Firstto get a really good pic with a camera and second is to rid my area of that terrible scourge :funnyturkey:
None of the pics posted look like the beards I saw . They looked orange all the way through . Two birds hanging in a winter gobblers group. Maybe I will come across the pic.