My turkeys are confusing me

[teria]

I have three turkeys, standard bronze, that are now seven months old. I watched them over the fall to see who might be a tom and who might be a hen, and thought I figured it out when they started displaying at the dog, and once at me when I was clipping one of their wings, but, now I'm not so sure. Their caruncles are not buldgy like I think they should be at this age, and their snoods are short, not hanging down really at all. They sort of gobble a bit. We had a tom and hen pair last year that we raised from poults, and the tom showed all the signs of being a tom by about 5 months and the hen looked more like these three guys do now.

Were they just messin with me by displaying? Are they actually hens?

 

[R2elk]

I have three turkeys, standard bronze, that are now seven months old. I watched them over the fall to see who might be a tom and who might be a hen, and thought I figured it out when they started displaying at the dog, and once at me when I was clipping one of their wings, but, now I'm not so sure. Their caruncles are not buldgy like I think they should be at this age, and their snoods are short, not hanging down really at all. They sort of gobble a bit. We had a tom and hen pair last year that we raised from poults, and the tom showed all the signs of being a tom by about 5 months and the hen looked more like these three guys do now.

Were they just messin with me by displaying? Are they actually hens?

All three are hens. Hens can and do display especially if there is no tom present. Bronze hens once they have their mature feathers have light colored lower edges on their breast feathers. The lower edges on the breast feathers of a Bronze tom are dark. Hens don't gobble, toms do. I do not know what you are thinking is sort of a gobble since I have never heard any hens sort of gobble. When a mature tom gobbles, there is no mistaking it for a sort of a gobble.

Tom on the left, hen on the right.

 

[teria]

The sort of gobble is a gobble, but, it's not very loud. I think only one does it, I never pay that much attention to which one, but, it happens when I am putting food out or surprise them because they weren't expecting me. My Bourbon Red hen that hatched these three from eggs I bought from a poultry farm never once gobbled. She would peep, and squeak, and bark, but, never gobble, so, that is the confusing part. I guess what it all boils down to is that somebody in that trio is a poser and all of them are hens. Ah well, won't matter that much in a week or so, they are headed for freezer camp.