Hens and Tom's

[Cold Canadian]

I know this has more then likly been asked before .........but does a hen strut ? I have four bronze birds and they are about four to five months old and two of them are toms , no guessing there ,one is a hen , again no guess work required there , but one of them ? it looks like a hen in the face , but it fans it's tail and although I can't remember if I have heard it gobble as I have the other two .Do hens ever fan there tails like a tom ?

 

[Hideaway Haven]

Hi my female turkeys do fan their tails but it more flat and not up like the toms.
Hope that helps.

 

[Lagerdogger]

Hens will often strut but they should not gobble. If they are bronzes, the hens should have white edges on their breast feathers, while toms do not. Toms should also be much larger than the hens by now. Bigger thicker feet on the toms, too. Hens snoods won't elongate and droop like the tom's, even when they are displaying.

But then again, sometimes they just are darn hard to tell. I've had trouble with Bourbon Reds before, and they have different colored feathers too.

 

[chicmom]

I have a blue slate hen, and a royal palm tom. Anyhow, my hen NEVER displayed like a male. NEVER! Until...I bought a trio of Buckeyes home. I was in the process of getting their quarentine area ready, and they were still in the crate. She was apparently upset by that, and she just strutted and displayed for a good minute or two! I was shocked! She looked real pretty too.

The hens will display, especially if there is no male...It's like one of them will say "There's no tom here, so I'm the boss!"

 

[Cold Canadian]

The two that I know are toms have the longer snoods , but on two of them , one being a hen for sure , the snood isn;t anywhere as long as on the two toms ? Maybe I got lucky and managed to get two of each ?

 

[fiberdrunk]

My 2 female Narragansetts do display their feathers like the males. In fact, when my husband or son comes around them, they puff up and display to them. They are about 6 1/2 months old and started laying eggs a few weeks ago. Here's a photo of one of them doing it.