Aging birds

[troutfisher13111]

What are the general rules to aging turkey?

[I-55Bandit]

Anything an inch or over is probably a 3 year old or older and anything under is a 2 year old. A lot can depend on the terrain. Jakes don't have spurs they have nubs

[davisd9]

Around 1/2" to 1" is a two year old bird.  Anything under 1/2" is usually a Jake, not a definite rule but pretty close.  1" and over is a three year old or better.  We used to think that 1.25 and over was a 4 yr old or better but with new information coming in it is hard to say how old a bird is over three years old by spurs.  As said terrain can cause spurs to be worn or broken and therefore not grow as long even if a bird is 5 years old.  Here is a post by one of my team members, WNY Bowhunter, of a bird he killed last year that was banded and was at least a 6 year old bird and after speaking with someone from the banding study it is possible the bird was 8 years old.  That is a true trophy and if not for the band he would not have been able to guess the bird to be at least 6 yrs old and maybe 8.

http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,25642.0.html

[WNY Bowhunter]

Typically, I use the "they're as old as they're gonna get" method... !!!

Based on spur length I generally follow most of the same parameters as most hunters:

3/4" to 1" = 2 year old
1 1/8" and up = at least a 3 year old

If you are undecided about a turkey's age...hold it's beard over a light source you can instantly tell whether he is two years old or if he's 3 years plus. On a jake, the tips of the beard strands will have a distinct orange-amber color to them due to a lack of melanin. At two years old, the beard hasn't grown long enough yet to wear these "jake tips" off and they still show the orange coloration. By the time he is three years old, a gobbler has grown over 15" of beard and these amber tips will have broken off. Thus, a turkey with a 10" beard with orange tips is a two year old. If you have a 10" beard where the tips are jet black when viewed over a light...he is at least three years old. This may sound like a load of BS (I didn't make it up) but it you candle the beards of a bird with 1.25" spurs versus one with 3/4" spurs the contrast is extremely evident.         



The beard on the left from a turkey I killed last spring (10 3/8" beard & 7/8" spurs). Notice all of the orange coloration on the tips = 2 year old. The beard on the right is from another bird. He had a 10.5" beard and 1.25" spurs, definately a 3-4 year old gobbler. Notice there is no orange tint at all beacuse his beard has had an extra year to grow and the intitial "jake tip" portion of his beard has been worn off.   The second gobbler that I killed this year had 1" spurs but the orange tip on his beard consistant of a two year old.   

Genetics also plays a role in spur length.  I killed a banded gobbler last spring that had one 1 1/4" spur and the other was broken off @ 3/4".  When captured in Feb. 2007 he had 1 3/16" spurs and a 10" beard making him 3 or 4 years old at the time.  When I killed him in last May (5 years later) he was 8 or 9 years old!!!   I never would have believed that a gobbler could live that long around here.  Also, I would have thought his spurs would have been at least a inch and a half...

[davisd9]

Great information to add about the beards.  I was aware of the amber tips of a 2 yr old but was not aware of how it changed to a 3 yr old with no amber tips.  Learn something new all the time! 

[longspur]

And don't forget that genetics play a major roll. Some toms spurs would never grow over an inch without any wear and tear. Ever notice that some places hold birds with long spurs consistantly. And some places have birds with thick beards too. Sorta like antlers, you have to have the genes.

[Muskie03]

1 5/8" spurs. I have been hunting this bird for 5 years. I aged him at 6-7 plus.

[TRKYHTR]

Good job WNY bowhunter that pretty much sums it up. I killed a gobbler a couple years ago that I knew was at least 6 years old. He lived about 300 yards from my back door and was at least a 2 year old when I first saw him. I didn't even hunt him for 4 years but watched his progress yearly. I finally decided he was at least 6 and that I was going to hunt him. When I killed him he had 1 1/4" spurs. They were nice and sharp and curved a little but I was expecting something alot bigger. Genetics plays a huge role in spur size.

TRKYHTR

[troutfisher13111]

WNY Bowhunter, great thread. Where in NY are you from? I am currently in northern Oswego county.

Thanks for the replies guys. Your answers are what I thought, just unsure.

[mikejd]

Cool thread here. WNY cool letter. I remember from a thread last year that you spoke of the letter but it is cool to read for myself. I cant believe that they can actually make it that long. Especially with the winters and snowfall out your way. Talk about Boss Gobbler.

[WNY Bowhunter]

WNY Bowhunter, great thread. Where in NY are you from? I am currently in northern Oswego county.

I'm in the western Finger Lakes Region...Steuben County...WMU 8R.

[WNY Bowhunter]

Cool thread here. WNY cool letter. I remember from a thread last year that you spoke of the letter but it is cool to read for myself. I cant believe that they can actually make it that long. Especially with the winters and snowfall out your way. Talk about Boss Gobbler.

Honestly, the winters in my area aren't too bad compared to other regions in the state.  We usually don't get hit with much lake effect snow.  The deer and turkeys make it through just fine.

[troutfisher13111]

We get the lake effect snow. It can be tough on the wildlife, but the last few winters have been mild.

[mikejd]

We get the lake effect snow. It can be tough on the wildlife, but the last few winters have been mild.

I have a place up in the adirondacks. I went up 1st week of april and still had 4' of snow on the ground.
I also have a place on the chenango/madison border that seems to get hit pretty good.

[Turkeyman]

Yes, although spur length is the best indication of age that tri-state study mentioned earlier shows that even spur length is very variable.

Muskie03, no offense, but spur length is measured from where it erupts from the skin up the backside, not to the back of the leg. I got a leg from one of mine with the same configuration as yours and the actual spur length is 1".