Good morning, fair turkey folk! I have a quandary for you. I have in my keeping, two BS turkeys about 7 months old. One of them, I've always been positive is a male. He struts, gobbles, is getting larger caruncles on his head and neck, and his snood will enlarge.
The other BS has me scratching my head, though. I can't tell if it's male or female. Its snood stays relatively the same size, it has more feathering on its neck/head, and the edges of the feathers on its back and tail are a creamy color, whereas the obvious male has all-black feathers. This makes me think that this mystery BS is a hen, but it is the same size as the known male. Its snood is also roughly the same size as the male's (when his is relaxed and shrunken)
Here are some pictures. Sorry, they are very shy, so it's difficult to get good closeups:
Obvious male. Black feather edges with the bronzy-green sheen.
Both BS. Obvious male is up front, ?? is in the rear near my bronze hen.
Left to right: bronze hen, ?? BS, obvious male BS.
?? BS head shot.
?? BS on left, obvious male BS on the right. Notice how the known male has less feathering on his head.
The other BS has me scratching my head, though. I can't tell if it's male or female. Its snood stays relatively the same size, it has more feathering on its neck/head, and the edges of the feathers on its back and tail are a creamy color, whereas the obvious male has all-black feathers. This makes me think that this mystery BS is a hen, but it is the same size as the known male. Its snood is also roughly the same size as the male's (when his is relaxed and shrunken)
Here are some pictures. Sorry, they are very shy, so it's difficult to get good closeups:
Obvious male. Black feather edges with the bronzy-green sheen.
Both BS. Obvious male is up front, ?? is in the rear near my bronze hen.
Left to right: bronze hen, ?? BS, obvious male BS.
?? BS head shot.
?? BS on left, obvious male BS on the right. Notice how the known male has less feathering on his head.
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