What is a good beard length for a turkey?
Turkey Beards
As a general rule, jakes will have short beards (about 2 to 3 inches in length), while the tom turkey beard can be up to 10 inches or more (they don't call them longbeards for nothing). Sometimes toms even get multiple beards, which can be another good sign of maturity.
Beard Length
According to Turkey & Turkey Hunting magazine, a 2-year-old gobbler's beard usually measures 8 to 10 inches. When it's 3 years old, a gobbler's beard will have grown about 14 inches.
As biology tells us, the beard starts to grow when the young male turkey (or in some cases, female) is roughly five months old. That bird will add five inches annually on average. And a legal fall gobbler roughly 1.5 years old will often have a 6- to 7-inch beard.
“Multiple beards on a bird is not a common occurrence, with estimates suggesting that less than 10% of toms sport more than one beard,” said Dr. Mike Chamberlain, our favorite wild turkey researcher, from the University of Georgia.
Different strokes for different folks and all that, but there was a study done in 2008 that found women consider “heavy stubble,” or about ten days of beard growth to be the most attractive length.
Others say that a 9-inch beard is a sure sign that your turkey is at least 4 years old. Still others claim that a sharp spur 3/4-inch long indicates a three-year-old bird.
Tally your score by adding the weight, spur length and beard length. By comparison, a 20-pound Tom with one-inch spurs and an eight-inch beard will have a combined score of 56. By NWTF standards, this is a very respectable turkey.
Location: Canatlán, Durango, Mexico. Clyde Neely, a Texas resident, travelled south of the border and took this record-book Gould's on April 10, 2006, using a box and slate call. 14.0625 inches is a long turkey beard anywhere.
Biology tells us that some girl turkeys do wear beards — under 10% of the population some biologists will generally say. Some will specifically suggest it's as low as 2 to 4 percent. If present, those beards are usually no longer than eight inches, and often thin.
Gobblers have a beard, which is a cluster of long follicles in the center of their chest that can be an inch to 10 inches long. Unlike the rest of the body feathers which undergo 5 molts throughout an eastern's lifetime, the beard does not molt.
What is considered a trophy turkey?
Any bird with a beard might be called a trophy: jake, adult tom and even a fall turkey hen wearing one. For turkey hunters, most are memorable for many reasons (even those you don't kill).
The Auburn, also known as the Light Brown, is a breed of domestic turkey. A heritage turkey, the Auburn is one of the rarest varieties currently in existence. It has been referenced by name in written records since the 18th century, and is named after the light reddish-brown color of its plumage.
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| Beard Length | Tip Color | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 0" to 4" | Amber | Younger than 1 year |
| 4" to 5" | Amber | 1 year |
| 8" to 10" | Amber | 2 years |
| 10" plus | Black | 3 years or older |
Very rarely, females can have beards. Turkeys can also be classified as juveniles or adults based on several features listed below.
What is the most attractive beard style? According to statistics, the stubble beard style is considered by women to be the most attractive of them all. On the contrary, the mustache and the goatee beard style are considered to be the less attractive beard styles.
In general they found women rated beards higher for attractiveness compared with clean-shaven faces, particularly when judging potential for long-term rather than short-term relationships. In general, the results showed a mixed link between attractiveness and beardiness.
They concluded that women view men with facial hair to be not only more masculine but more confident, industrious, generous, and sincere than men who do not have facial hair. Additionally, researchers found that women judged beards as more attractive than clean‐shaven faces for long‐term relationships.
Adult male turkeys are called gobblers. Juvenile males are called jakes. Gobblers average around 18-22 pounds and can have a wingspan of 5 feet. Adult female turkeys are called hens.
The male typically weighs between 11 to 24 pounds and is 39-49 inches long. The female, significantly smaller than the male, weighs 5 to 12 pounds and is only 30 to 37 inches long. Despite their size, wild turkeys can run at speeds up to 25 mph and fly up to 55 mph.
Calculate turkey cooking time and temperature. The simplest way to figure out turkey roasting times is to calculate 13 minutes per pound at 350°F for an unstuffed turkey (that's about 3 hours for a 12- to 14-lb. turkey), or 15 minutes per pound for a stuffed turkey.
How can you tell a good turkey?
Above all else, look for one with a well-rounded breast—it'll turn out juicier. Beware of flat spots, which can indicate the bird has been thawed and refrozen. This not only increases the chances of freezer-burned meat, but it also raises the risk of food-borne illness.
A standard 2 ¾-inch or 3-inch magnum tungsten load is more than enough for killing turkeys out past 50 yards. Additionally, the advantages of tungsten shells make 20-gauge shotguns indisputably effective turkey killers.
Typical gobblers have only one beard that continues to grow throughout their life. About two percent of gobblers have multiple beards.
Like the fleshy head appendages, turkey beards are believed to be an aesthetic feature intended to attract mates; beards become more erect when a tom is aroused. The longer the beard, the older the turkey – they can eventually grow to about 12 inches in length.
Turkeys can change the color of the skin on their heads from red to blue to white, depending on whether they are calm or excited. This characteristic is so distinctive that it's earned turkeys the name “seven-faced bird” in Korean.
A distinguishing feature of both domesticated and wild turkeys is the black fibrous hairs that hang down from the chest away from the body plumage. Biologists and hunters call those hairs beards. A turkey's beard can be long enough to touch the ground. Beards grow on all male turkeys or gobblers and grow on some hens.
As a conservation measure the state purposely and prudently sets the start of the season to begin after the peak of gobbling, for the roughly two weeks before most hens start sitting on their nests. Toms naturally taper off in gobbling in this time, after the hide-and-seek of mating game has peaked, Duren said.
And any public-land hunter can affirm that birds are far less vocal after periods of heavy pressure, such as opening weekend. Sometimes gobblers go quiet because of a pretty predictable reason: hens.
The gobbler wanted to be where you were when you spooked him. So, after he thinks you're gone, and he hears a hen softly calling, there's a very good chance he may come back in that direction. Remember — the gobbler has a limited number of days to breed.
Inspection (for wholesomeness) is mandatory but grading (for quality) is voluntary. Grade A is the highest quality and the only grade you are likely to see at the retail level.
Is a bronze turkey better than a white turkey?
Perhaps a little, with bronze birds having a slightly more 'gamey' flavour, but any difference is more pronounced in the brown meat. That's why we've introduced our full boneless bronze turkeys, as we think there's little point in having a bronze bird if you're only going to eat the breast meat.
Most turkey breeds will mature between 14-22 weeks of age, which means you will need to purchase birds early in July to make sure they have enough time to grow. Heritage breeds will take a bit longer, 25-30 weeks, so those birds would need to be purchased in late May or early June.
The meat from a female turkey is more tender and flavorful than that of a male turkey. The ideal weight of an adult female turkey is about 4 kilos.
No. 1. Easterns: Hunter pressure in tight habitats make this subspecies the most difficult in the country. More turkey hunters roam Eastern states than any of the others.
Bourbon Reds
Bourbon Red turkeys are very attractive birds for their beautiful red plumage. They are also known and popular for a full flavor, delicious meat and are considered as one of the best tasting heritage turkey breeds. This breed came from their origin in Bourbon county, Kentucky.
Rarer, though, are albinos, a condition marked by white skin and feathers along with light pink or red eyes. Seeing an albino turkey would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience: It's estimated that only 1 in 100,000 Wild Turkeys is albino.
Super Jake
His beard is now 6 or 7 inches long, his tail fan is full, and he's nearly the two-year-old you'll try to kill next spring. He'll gobbler cluck, yelp, gobble on the roost, strut and work to your calls. Sometimes he runs with other super jakes and longbeards.
The beard grows throughout the turkey's life at a rate of about four inches per year. Adult male beards can be eight to 12 inches in length.
Typical gobblers have only one beard that continues to grow throughout their life. About two percent of gobblers have multiple beards.
How do I know if my turkey is bearded?
They also have a “beard”—a tuft of black, hair-like strands—protruding from their chest. On adult gobblers (called toms), the beard can be 7-9 inches or more in length, but on young gobblers (called jakes) the beard is <6 inches long.
Birds with blackhead disease are usually listless and have drooping wings, unkempt feathers, and yellow droppings. Typically, the cecum and liver of an infected bird will become inflamed and develop ulcers. Young birds become sick quickly and usually die within a few days after signs appear.
NWTF World Record for Turkey with the Most Beards
The longest beard was 10 inches and all 13 beards added up to a combined length of 78.9375 inches.
Tally your score by adding the weight, spur length and beard length. By comparison, a 20-pound Tom with one-inch spurs and an eight-inch beard will have a combined score of 56. By NWTF standards, this is a very respectable turkey.
| Spur Length | Curvature | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 0" to 1/2" | Straight | 1 year or a jake |
| 1/2" to 7/8" | Straight | 1 1/2 years (fall) 2 years (spring) |
| 1' to 1 1/2" | Slight Curve | 2 to 3 years |
| Over 1 1/2" | Curved | over 4 years |
"If a turkey has a vitamin deficiency it will show up in its beard like a rust-colored ring around the beard," she said. "It will be brittle and can break off." She does not believe "rotting" is a common culprit of beard break-offs, but vitamin deficiency is.