Three turkeys

[Duckaroni]

I have three Bourbon red turkeys, born in August. So they’re about 25 weeks old. My husband is convinced they’re hens. And now that I’m buying a tom, I’m concerned maybe they’re all jakes. Not a single one has gobbled, dispite my attempts (finding gobbles on YouTube and standing with them with it playing). Their faces flush. And then they run away from me. Two “display” at one of my roosters and the dogs, but don’t gobble at all. They make warbling noises and chirps. They have a lot of peach fuzz all over the head and neck, and a pencil thin line of feathers up the middle. However, I read somewhere hens will have buff/white tipped feathers and mine definitely have some black tipped. No beards. Their snoods never get long. And they’re super super friendly (even though I never mess with them, they insist on being underfoot). Are these girls or boys?

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us
I would likely vote hens, but I'm horrible at sexing turkeys.

 

[sourland]

I'll go with hens, but I'm worse than rjohns39. Welcome to BYC.

 

[Duckaroni]

Thanks for the guesses! Toms tend to react to my husband (I don’t get it, but hey...he can make a tom gobble a mile away ), these guys...er girls? Don’t. At first I was disappointed in them being hens. But a riding buddy has a spare tom for me to buy, so it became less disappointing that they all were hens. I don’t need 4 toms, though. I figured by now it would be obvious like with chickens and guineas. But it’s not.

 

[rjohns39]

Thanks for the guesses! Toms tend to react to my husband (I don’t get it, but hey...he can make a tom gobble a mile away ), these guys...er girls? Don’t. At first I was disappointed in them being hens. But a riding buddy has a spare tom for me to buy, so it became less disappointing that they all were hens. I don’t need 4 toms, though. I figured by now it would be obvious like with chickens and guineas. But it’s not.

Last year I locked a poor hen up in the bachelor pad @R2elk had me rescue her and put her in with the hens.

 

[R2elk]

View attachment 1227596 View attachment 1227597 View attachment 1227596 View attachment 1227595 View attachment 1227594 View attachment 1227593 View attachment 1227592 I have three Bourbon red turkeys, born in August. So they’re about 25 weeks old. My husband is convinced they’re hens. And now that I’m buying a tom, I’m concerned maybe they’re all jakes. Not a single one has gobbled, dispite my attempts (finding gobbles on YouTube and standing with them with it playing). Their faces flush. And then they run away from me. Two “display” at one of my roosters and the dogs, but don’t gobble at all. They make warbling noises and chirps. They have a lot of peach fuzz all over the head and neck, and a pencil thin line of feathers up the middle. However, I read somewhere hens will have buff/white tipped feathers and mine definitely have some black tipped. No beards. Their snoods never get long. And they’re super super friendly (even though I never mess with them, they insist on being underfoot). Are these girls or boys?

They all appear to be hens. The two that are facing the camera do have light colored lower edges on their breast feathers. Since these are their mature feathers this is a sure sign that they are hens.

Good luck.

 

[Duckaroni]

Verdict is in after I brought home the new tom (2 year old). One hen, two Jakes. Two gobbled and fought with the new guy and after putting the two younger ones in a different pen, new guy and the little lady have been courting. Got new guy for nothing. Oh well! He’s handsome and so he will stay with my hen.

 

[R2elk]

Verdict is in after I brought home the new tom (2 year old). One hen, two Jakes. Two gobbled and fought with the new guy and after putting the two younger ones in a different pen, new guy and the little lady have been courting. Got new guy for nothing. Oh well! He’s handsome and so he will stay with my hen.

Actually it is probably better since it is likely that your original 3 are brother/sister related and hopefully your new tom is not directly related to them.

 

[sfgwife]

Actually it is probably better since it is likely that your original 3 are brother/sister related and hopefully your new tom is not directly related to them.

I cannot believe you didnt tell em to find more hens for that boy.... your heat wave must be addelin yer brain cell...

 

[Duckaroni]

Actually it is probably better since it is likely that your original 3 are brother/sister related and hopefully your new tom is not directly related to them.

My boys are likely related, but my hen came from a different breeder/farm (she came from some hatching eggs I ordered, only one to hatch). I know that one is her because I hatched guineas at the same time and they ate her snood bump and damaged her beak slightly (then they went down the road because they were pecking beaks off chicks beaks too).

I cannot believe you didnt tell em to find more hens for that boy.... your heat wave must be addelin yer brain cell...

didn’t have too, I’ll be hatching out some poults (retaining hens) to put with the other boys this year a few years back I started collecting guineas. Now I’m onto turkeys since the guineas are well established. keep two flocks of chickens for meat and eggs, but don’t have the same draw to them