![]() Tom droppings are easily distinguished from the more clumped together hen excrement. These droppings are generally about two inches in length. Toms leave a long, sometimes j-shaped dropping. Yep, you can tell the sex of a turkey by its excrement. Hen turkey tracks will usually be about three and a half inches in length.įinally, there is another sign a turkey leaves behind. If you find a track that is longer than four inches, it is probably a tom. Photo courtesy of Virginia State Parks on Flickr TracksĪs you might assume, the bigger tom has a bigger track than the smaller hen. You can sometimes identify whether the track was left by a tom or hen by the length of the track. Let’s talk about how to identify the gender of a bird when tracking turkeys. The tom turkey has dark, black color tips. The tips of the feathers on a hen are more of a buff color. The hen’s overall feathering is a browner tint than the darker, blacker tom’s. PlumageĪs you might have guessed, tom turkeys have flashier feathering than the hen like most other avian species. Let’s look at the rest of their feathers. The head is not the only coloring difference between a hen vs a tom turkey. Hen’s have small feathers on their heads. As mentioned above, the snood will be much shorter than a tom’s. ![]() The hen’s head is much less flashy than the tom’s. It can contract, expand, and change colors based on the turkey’s mood. The snood is the fleshy protuberance above the bill. Toms also have a longer snood than a hen. ![]() The head is a great way to differentiate a tom from a hen as you will likely be focused on the head.Ī tom’s head will be a combination of red, white, and blue. Notice the mostly blue hue of the hen’s head on the left vs the red, white, and blue head of the tom on the right. Size is another tool in our toolbox, but what other clues can we use? A good way to distinguish a hen from a tom is the head. Keep in mind that jakes and larger hens can be similar in size as well. If you are seeing them separately in the field, it can be tough to determine gender based on size. Size differences can be useful for determining sex if you have a mature tom and a hen. The largest toms can be over four feet in length while the longest hens are usually just over three feet in length. Toms are also usually a bit longer than hens. The heaviest tom on record is 37.6 pounds. So let’s move on to another factor we can use to differentiate a hen from a tom. It can also be difficult to see the spurs of a tom in the field. Unfortunately, spurs wear down, break, and even fall off. Spurs can vary in color from black to pink. Toms use the spurs to fight other gobblers and establish dominance. The jake has a short, rounded spur while a three-year-old bird can have spurs longer than one inch in length.Ī spur is a claw-like feather on the backside of the leg. The theory is that the longer the spur, the older the turkey. In fact, spurs provide a rough estimate of the age of the tom. Spursįor the most part, only toms and jakes grow spurs or “hooks”. However, there are many other ways to tell a hen from a tom. What else can we use to tell a hen from a tom? A hen, as shown above, does not have spurs like a tom. So a beard is a good guideline, but not a hard rule. Beard rot results from vitamin deficiency in a turkey. And if that’s not confusing enough, some toms suffer from “ beard rot” leaving them with a thin beard or even no beard at all. According to Julie Craven at BirdWatching, 5-10 percent of all hen turkeys have beards. However, you can’t totally rely on the beard when identifying a turkey hen vs. The beard is usually easy to pick up when hunting so it is a key identifier. Some toms have multiple beards.īeards are black and are made of feather-like bristles. In a mature tom, these beards are usually seven inches or longer in length. Toms generally have a beard protruding from their chest. During fall seasons, there are states that allow both sexes to be harvested while others still only allow toms to be harvested.Īs you can see, it is very important to be able to tell a tom from a hen. Some states allow you to shoot bearded hens. In most states, the law requires a harvest of only tom turkeys during the spring season. For more information on jakes including whether you should shoot them or not, read our full article on the subject. Toms will make sounds known as gobbling, spitting, drumming, and yelping.Ī juvenile tom is called a jake. They lay eggs and commonly make sounds known as clucks, yelps, cuts, kee-kees, and purrs.Ī male turkey is known as a tom. Well in turkey hunting, you must know the difference between a turkey hen vs a tom turkey.Ī hen is a female turkey. In deer hunting, you must be able to tell a buck from a doe. Just as in duck hunting you must know the species (and sometimes the sex). It’s not enough to just know that you’re shooting at a turkey. This is one of the golden rules of hunting. Always know your target before you pull the trigger.
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