Tom or Hen?

[kingrogue]

 

[BarneyChick97]

Well, I have a question of one myself, but I would think that because of the feathers up on its head, I would guess that is a hen.

 

[BarneyChick97]

I think this bronze is a tom, but my husband thinks its more "hen-like". We have 3 other toms, for sure, they fight, they strut, their snoods get really big and red, and the white turkey has a beard already. This bronze has always been very frail looking, and its feathers seem very muted. We've always had a bronze turkey, (this is our 3rd year of turkeys), and we can't agree with this one? What do you think?? I have seen it fight with one of the smaller ones, its never strutted, or gobbled (that I can tell). It seems submissive to the bigger turkeys. They are all about 5/6 months of age.
Thanks

 

[tniron]

Please explain what everyone is talking about when they refer to the feathers on the neck or head.

 

[BarneyChick97]

If you look at the feathers on the turkey pictured by "kingrogue", you can see a small trail of feathers going up the back of the neck, and part of the back half of their head. I am pretty sure that toms have little or zero feathers on their heads. Does that help? I don't think I have that on my turkey in question? (that should help me, but yet, here I am asking too)

 

[grinningranny]

I have the same conundrum. Rather than start a new thread since it is the same subject I thought I would tack on here...I'm new...hope that isn't rude. I was sold a turkey to replace the Narragansett tom we lost and for the life of me I don't know if it is a hen or Tom. It is 5-6 months old, Taller and more slender than my 5 month old hens with darker, more distinguished coloring, a very slightly longer snood, I haven't seen it strut, but that doesn't seem to be much of a gender indicator. Its legs are longer and slightly thicker, when exited, the neck gets red and blue, unlike my hens, I was able to evoke a lame little gobble out of it by gobbling myself, BUT it has very distinctive feathers going up the back of its head ... I thought that was a sure way of distinguishing a hen, and it is very gentle, don't understand the beard thing, but dh found something like a little Brillo pad sorta thing on its chest under the feathers. Any comments?

 

[BarneyChick97]

I am still at a loss of what mine really is. I KNOW I have/had 3 toms. They gobbled, strutted, fight, flair out their feathers and wings... but the ONE in question, I am still unsure of! I thought I heard something about the feathers having white tips, and it does. My husband and I even have picked up our turkeys and searched for the beards (the ones that weren't too big to handle). You could clearly see the "nub" it started to grow from. It is a lot like a brillo pad. The one I can't prove is a tom or not didn't have one, and its very very slender. Our ladies from last year (who laid eggs consistently) were on the larger side, not a bit slender that I can recall. It doesn't fight much either. I'd say, if it gobbles, its a tom. The year we had only hens, we never heard a single one gobble. Nor did any lady have a beard.