The Blonde Beard

[imp]

So I thought this was interesting. I have broke even more of the blonde off messing with it. But this is what I found out.

    Disease -- Turkeys will occasionally get a melanin deficiency in their beard. Melanin is the pigment that makes the beard black and sometimes the melanin production is stopped during the growth of the beard and the beard gets a blonde or light colored streak across it. Usually the melanin production will pick back up and the rest of the beard will be black but the beard will always have that blonde streak through it. The light-colored portion of the beard is much more brittle and weaker than the black portions and the beards will often break off at that point or stop growing. Some turkeys suffering from this will have completely blonde beards.

[DirtNap647]

Shot a couple like that myself

[taylorjones20]

I have always heard it called beard rot.  I have killed several over the past few years like that. Some may have beard rot and from that portion on be a real thin beard and some are like yours, just all the way across fallen off...

[FullChoke]

I hunted with a friend a few years back who shot a jake with a completely blonde 3" beard. The jake was healthy and normal in all other aspects except for the totally blonde beard.

[turkey john]

I always thought it was from being burned while feeding in burnt over areas. Or from being frozen from ice/snow... I've taken a handful over the yrs that looked like that. No full blonde though.

[Gooserbat]

Neat, would make a good display.

[BigAL64]

I have always heard it called beard rot.  I have killed several over the past few years like that. Some may have beard rot and from that portion on be a real thin beard and some are like yours, just all the way across fallen off...

That is exactly what it looks like to me!! See it allot when we have deep snow for extended periods. The hair gets frozen and breaks off. I have shot several like that over the years.

[jblackburn]

Couple years ago a buddy killed a mature MO gobbler that had at 3 or 4 inch beard and the whole thing was blonde.

[Charley B]

I took this one last year in Ontario, first time I saw a striped beard.  The birds appeard in a good shape eventough.

[BigHeadBoy]

My daddy killed one with a full 9" inch blonde beard here in South Louisiana about 8 years ago

[TRKYHTR]

Yep alot of people call that beard rot but it doesn't have anything to do with rotting. Its a mellinin deficiency usually caused by a sickness or traumatic event. During the time of this event the beard grows out yellow or white and is very brittle. It will usually break off at that point. My son killed a gobbler this weekend that had it and the beard looked like somebody took scissors and cut it off.

[RutnNStrutn]

I've shot a few like that myself. Turkey oddities!!