Royal Palms - Toms or hens?

Hello, I got 2 Royal Palm turkeys that I am having trouble knowing if they are males or females. They look very similar, they strut and gobble the same. Their snood and their heads are red, and change colors (which I bet the females do as well, since i'm guessing they are males) I can try to post pictures very soon, and also they are about 10 months old. Vent sexing isn't really an option for me, as they are very large and not really experienced in it. Does anyone have pictures showing the differences for Royal Palms? Thank you very much!

If they're 10 months old, strutting and gobbling and their heads are changing color, I'm betting they're males. I've had hens that have strutted, but they never really gobbled and their heads don't change color.

Sound like males to me.

Ah that's what I thought. Well thanks for the reply!

I got Royal Palm's and Bourbon Reds and at 9or10 month's u can tell the difference toms heads are bigger and change color. And a hen head is a lot smaller then a tom

Hen heads can change from pink to blue and it's not too rare for them to have beards and even strut, but they don't gobble like a tom (though they can do a fake gobble), and I've not seen a confirmed hen with a long snood (more than 1/2") nor with spurs longer than nubs.

I have a Narragansett turkey that at 10 months still has me wondering. It has the coloring of a tom, cackles like a hen, squats for the dominant tom, struts and changes color and has well developed caruncles and snood but no sign of a beard though it does have the fatty mass at the base of the neck. I've never seen it try to mount the other hens and the dominant tom has never tried to fight with it, instead he tries to court it.

I have had plenty of sex link hen chickens "go rooster" on me when they get old and develop bigger comb and wattles and even kind of crow after a lifetime of laying eggs, but chickens tend to kill these odd birds off. Turkeys seem a lot more tolerant of sexually ambiguous or gender-benders.

Ok, I am having the same problem! I went and picked up 3 Royal Palm "toms" from someone who decided to not have birds any longer... they told me "we can't tell them apart" which I found to be ridiculous, but anyway... once I get them home... 2 are most DEFINITELY toms, however the third just seems like a hen to my husband and I. It doesn't fan its tail, its "gobble" is not quite a gobble it mostly makes a whining sound, and the 2 toms seemed to be posturing around the third until it flew on top of the henhouse. All 3 are approx a year old...Is it possible for this to be her first laying season and the people were wrong? I have had chickens and ducks but never turkeys. I don't mind either way, just wanting to know. If I have a hen it saves me from trying to find one!! LOL

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NO5birdlimit said:

Ok, I am having the same problem! I went and picked up 3 Royal Palm "toms" from someone who decided to not have birds any longer... they told me "we can't tell them apart" which I found to be ridiculous, but anyway... once I get them home... 2 are most DEFINITELY toms, however the third just seems like a hen to my husband and I. It doesn't fan its tail, its "gobble" is not quite a gobble it mostly makes a whining sound, and the 2 toms seemed to be posturing around the third until it flew on top of the henhouse. All 3 are approx a year old...Is it possible for this to be her first laying season and the people were wrong? I have had chickens and ducks but never turkeys. I don't mind either way, just wanting to know. If I have a hen it saves me from trying to find one!! LOL

Click to expand...

can you post a pic.

WalnutHill said:

Hen heads can change from pink to blue and it's not too rare for them to have beards and even strut, but they don't gobble like a tom (though they can do a fake gobble), and I've not seen a confirmed hen with a long snood (more than 1/2") nor with spurs longer than nubs.

Click to expand...

I have a confirmed hen (laid her first egg of the year yesterday) that when she is in full strut mode her snood extends completely to the end of her bill. She is an excellent mother and has hatched and raised quite a few poults for me.

Her mother has a beard.

I will try to get one! Give me a few!! And thank you!!!