- Jul 2, 2011
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Hi members,
I had updated this study of moults of turkeys, again, with primaries 10th take 60 days instead of 80 days to regrow.
Read carefully and you will notice.
At my friend's farm, I studied the moults of domestic turkeys.
A immature male bronze domestic turkey (now 2 year old) shed immature primaries 1st (innermost) on 19th October 2011 and shed primaries 10th (outermost) on 1st February 2012. This bird shed right immature primary 2nd on 25th October 2011.ied the moults of a immature male bronze turkey (now 2 year old) and turkey chicks.
Primaries 10th fully grown on 27th march 2012, took 160 days to renew 10 primary feathers. This bird is a fast moulter.
This same 2-year-old male turkey had started to moult and shed the primaries 1st on 13th November 2012 and had shed left primary 2nd on 7th January 2013 and both primary 8th and left primary 9th on 5th March 2013.
This same 2-year-old male turkey had shed left primariy 10th on 19 March 2013 and right primary 10th on 20th March 2013, but two innermost secondary feathers remained in both wings, next to growing tertary feathers.
Add 60 days = this same 2-year-old male turkey finish moulting on 19th May 2013, with 187 days of renewing the whole flight feathers from 13th November 2012, to 19th May 2013 and total moulting season of 190 days.
On 17th April 2013 the same 2-year-old male turkey were caught and I had measured the 30-day-old right primary 10th, it was 121mm from skin, to tip of feather, with total 150mm for entire length of feather, and have more 104mm to grow, at 5mm per day, until slow down to 4mm per day, onward from 50th day of growth.
The new fully grown adult primary 10th is 255mm, but over next 12 months, it wear down to 185mm through rubbing the feather tip on ground during displaying.
A male turkey chick hatched on 25th October 2011, had shed juvenile tail 9th (outermost) on 15th February 2012 at age 113 days old and juvenile primaries 8th (outer) on 21st March 2012, at age 148 days old and shed the 241mm immature primary 1st (innermost) on 21st March 2012.
On 8th May 2012 this same male turkey chick had primary 8th have more 22 days to finish growing, take 70 days to regrow and fully grown on 30th May 2012 at age of 218 days old, and primaries 9th were 30mm from tip of immature primary coverts on 8th May 2012. 22 days later the tip of primary 9th had reached the tip of juvenile primary 10th, on 30th May 2012. Post juvenile moult will be completed on June 2012 at 7-month-old.
A turkey chick hatched on 25th January 2012, had shed 106mm juvenile primary feather 1st (innermost) on 12th March 2012, at age of 47 days old. The new 241mm immature primary feather, will take over. On 8th May 2012 this turkey chick had shed juvenile primary 7th and have juvenile primary 8th-10th remained.
These female turkeys that hatched on 25th October 2011, had shed the juvenile primaries 10th and on 8th May 2012 the growing primary 10th were 38mm to 50mm from skin, and had new 2nd immature secondaries 4th to 7th, and are longer & bigger than immature secondaries 8th to 20th.
To help ensure you know which female turkeys are adult and immature, you would band the turkeys (rings around legs).
Seems the days between shedding of primaries 1st and 8th, were 101 days, from 11th December 2011, at 47 days old, to 21st March 2012 at 148 days old.
Adult male wild turkeys take 180 days to renew all flight feathers.
An immature female shed primaries 1st on September 2011 and the same bird had 2/3 grown growing primaries 10th on 8th May 2012.
Both adult and immature female turkeys replaces 1-3 primaries (P.1st or P.1st to P.3rd), before the moults were stopped when turkeys start to breed, and when chicks are few weeks old the mother turkey restart to moult, by shed P.2nd or P.4th and moult finishes on June. Primaries fade from blackish brown, to dull brown.
At 5-month-old and 6-month-old the young male turkey started to displaying. The male turkey chick that hatched on 25th October 2011, had been seen displaying by me, on 30th May 2012.
On 11th September 2012 the 10-month-old same male turkey chick (hatched on 25th October 2011) had shed 261mm left immature primary 1st (innermost) on 11th September, at age of 322 day old and right immature primary 1st on 25th September, at age of 336 days old. Then he shed both primaries 2nd on 23th October 2012, at age 350 day old, both primaries 3rd on 14th November 2012, at age 372 days old, both primaries 4th on 5th December 2012, at age 393 days old and right primary 9th on 29th January 2013, at 448 days old, left primary 9th on 5th February 2013, at 455 days old, left juvenile primary 10th (outermost) on 5th February 2013, at 478 days old, right juvenile primary 10th on 13th Febuary 2013, at 486 days old.
For growth of right primary 10th, age 486 days old + 60 days growth = 215 moulting days at 546 days old.
This past immature moult, from immature plumage, to adult plumage, take 215 days (7 months + 5 days), started on 11th September 2012 at age of 322 days old and finish on 14th April 2013, at age of 546 days old, with whole moulting season of 215 days.
Had this 10-month-old male turkey shed both primaries 1st on 25th September 2012 and shed both primaries 10th on 13th February 2013, this would take total 201 moulting days, instead of 215 moulting days.
The same male turkey chick that was hatched on 25th October 2011, is now a fully-grown 1-year-old adult turkey on 5th March 2013.
One immature female turkey had shed right immature primary 1st on 28th August 2012 and 231 days later she shed the 275mm right immature primary 9th the last primary feather to shed on 16th April 2013, + 55 days = total 286 days.
She finishes moulting on 10th June 2013, when right adult primary 9th is fully grown.
One adult female turkey shed left primary 1st on 29th January 2013 and right primary 6th on 3rd April 2013, 64 days apart.
Some turkeys shed either primaries 10th or 9th as last primary feathers to shed.
I will update this again once 1-year-old male turkey's primaries 10th are fully grown as I noticed the primary 10th were 2/2 grown on 20th March 2013 and about 18cm to 20cm (Fully grown primary feather 10th is 26cm lengthwise).
I researched the primary feather 10th of 2-year-old turkey and found the growth rates were 5cm per day, and that male turkey primary 10th take 60 days, not 80 days.
I still am sorting the primary feathers of female turkeys, they have 3 more months of moulting season. Turkeys were getting used to me and became tame toward me.
Cheers
Clinton.
I had updated this study of moults of turkeys, again, with primaries 10th take 60 days instead of 80 days to regrow.
Read carefully and you will notice.
At my friend's farm, I studied the moults of domestic turkeys.
A immature male bronze domestic turkey (now 2 year old) shed immature primaries 1st (innermost) on 19th October 2011 and shed primaries 10th (outermost) on 1st February 2012. This bird shed right immature primary 2nd on 25th October 2011.ied the moults of a immature male bronze turkey (now 2 year old) and turkey chicks.
Primaries 10th fully grown on 27th march 2012, took 160 days to renew 10 primary feathers. This bird is a fast moulter.
This same 2-year-old male turkey had started to moult and shed the primaries 1st on 13th November 2012 and had shed left primary 2nd on 7th January 2013 and both primary 8th and left primary 9th on 5th March 2013.
This same 2-year-old male turkey had shed left primariy 10th on 19 March 2013 and right primary 10th on 20th March 2013, but two innermost secondary feathers remained in both wings, next to growing tertary feathers.
Add 60 days = this same 2-year-old male turkey finish moulting on 19th May 2013, with 187 days of renewing the whole flight feathers from 13th November 2012, to 19th May 2013 and total moulting season of 190 days.
On 17th April 2013 the same 2-year-old male turkey were caught and I had measured the 30-day-old right primary 10th, it was 121mm from skin, to tip of feather, with total 150mm for entire length of feather, and have more 104mm to grow, at 5mm per day, until slow down to 4mm per day, onward from 50th day of growth.
The new fully grown adult primary 10th is 255mm, but over next 12 months, it wear down to 185mm through rubbing the feather tip on ground during displaying.
A male turkey chick hatched on 25th October 2011, had shed juvenile tail 9th (outermost) on 15th February 2012 at age 113 days old and juvenile primaries 8th (outer) on 21st March 2012, at age 148 days old and shed the 241mm immature primary 1st (innermost) on 21st March 2012.
On 8th May 2012 this same male turkey chick had primary 8th have more 22 days to finish growing, take 70 days to regrow and fully grown on 30th May 2012 at age of 218 days old, and primaries 9th were 30mm from tip of immature primary coverts on 8th May 2012. 22 days later the tip of primary 9th had reached the tip of juvenile primary 10th, on 30th May 2012. Post juvenile moult will be completed on June 2012 at 7-month-old.
A turkey chick hatched on 25th January 2012, had shed 106mm juvenile primary feather 1st (innermost) on 12th March 2012, at age of 47 days old. The new 241mm immature primary feather, will take over. On 8th May 2012 this turkey chick had shed juvenile primary 7th and have juvenile primary 8th-10th remained.
These female turkeys that hatched on 25th October 2011, had shed the juvenile primaries 10th and on 8th May 2012 the growing primary 10th were 38mm to 50mm from skin, and had new 2nd immature secondaries 4th to 7th, and are longer & bigger than immature secondaries 8th to 20th.
To help ensure you know which female turkeys are adult and immature, you would band the turkeys (rings around legs).
Seems the days between shedding of primaries 1st and 8th, were 101 days, from 11th December 2011, at 47 days old, to 21st March 2012 at 148 days old.
Adult male wild turkeys take 180 days to renew all flight feathers.
An immature female shed primaries 1st on September 2011 and the same bird had 2/3 grown growing primaries 10th on 8th May 2012.
Both adult and immature female turkeys replaces 1-3 primaries (P.1st or P.1st to P.3rd), before the moults were stopped when turkeys start to breed, and when chicks are few weeks old the mother turkey restart to moult, by shed P.2nd or P.4th and moult finishes on June. Primaries fade from blackish brown, to dull brown.
At 5-month-old and 6-month-old the young male turkey started to displaying. The male turkey chick that hatched on 25th October 2011, had been seen displaying by me, on 30th May 2012.
On 11th September 2012 the 10-month-old same male turkey chick (hatched on 25th October 2011) had shed 261mm left immature primary 1st (innermost) on 11th September, at age of 322 day old and right immature primary 1st on 25th September, at age of 336 days old. Then he shed both primaries 2nd on 23th October 2012, at age 350 day old, both primaries 3rd on 14th November 2012, at age 372 days old, both primaries 4th on 5th December 2012, at age 393 days old and right primary 9th on 29th January 2013, at 448 days old, left primary 9th on 5th February 2013, at 455 days old, left juvenile primary 10th (outermost) on 5th February 2013, at 478 days old, right juvenile primary 10th on 13th Febuary 2013, at 486 days old.
For growth of right primary 10th, age 486 days old + 60 days growth = 215 moulting days at 546 days old.
This past immature moult, from immature plumage, to adult plumage, take 215 days (7 months + 5 days), started on 11th September 2012 at age of 322 days old and finish on 14th April 2013, at age of 546 days old, with whole moulting season of 215 days.
Had this 10-month-old male turkey shed both primaries 1st on 25th September 2012 and shed both primaries 10th on 13th February 2013, this would take total 201 moulting days, instead of 215 moulting days.
The same male turkey chick that was hatched on 25th October 2011, is now a fully-grown 1-year-old adult turkey on 5th March 2013.
One immature female turkey had shed right immature primary 1st on 28th August 2012 and 231 days later she shed the 275mm right immature primary 9th the last primary feather to shed on 16th April 2013, + 55 days = total 286 days.
She finishes moulting on 10th June 2013, when right adult primary 9th is fully grown.
One adult female turkey shed left primary 1st on 29th January 2013 and right primary 6th on 3rd April 2013, 64 days apart.
Some turkeys shed either primaries 10th or 9th as last primary feathers to shed.
I will update this again once 1-year-old male turkey's primaries 10th are fully grown as I noticed the primary 10th were 2/2 grown on 20th March 2013 and about 18cm to 20cm (Fully grown primary feather 10th is 26cm lengthwise).
I researched the primary feather 10th of 2-year-old turkey and found the growth rates were 5cm per day, and that male turkey primary 10th take 60 days, not 80 days.
I still am sorting the primary feathers of female turkeys, they have 3 more months of moulting season. Turkeys were getting used to me and became tame toward me.
Cheers
Clinton.
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