Toms Drumming please explain ?.

[frank53061]

I have heard people talk about Toms Drumming.
I have heard my Toms snorting as they display but not Drumming.
I picked one of my Toms up as he was displaying and patted him on the chest and it sounded like a drum and felt like a big air sack in the chest area.
I knew they puffed up there feathers but do they have air sacks they are able to inflate to look bigger and does this have any other purpose such as the subject of drumming?.

 

[ramirezframing]

I know one day I had left a cooking sheet out on the ground for some reason and my tom danced on it for the hen dont know if thats drumming as I havent had them but 1 1/2 yrs and started with poults.

 

[Lagerdogger]

The drumming noise that people refer to is a vibration of the tail feathers. If you listen closely during displays, you will hear the snort followed almost immediately by a low frequency huming noise. If you watch closely when this happens, you can see the tail feathers vibrating. At first, it seems almost inaudible, but after you learn to recognize it, it is quite easy to hear.

 

[aoxa]

The drumming noise that people refer to is a vibration of the tail feathers.  If you listen closely during displays, you will hear the snort followed almost immediately by a low frequency huming noise.  If you watch closely when this happens, you can see the tail feathers vibrating.  At first, it seems almost inaudible, but after you learn to recognize it, it is quite easy to hear.

Awesome! Never even noticed this. Going to have to look closely next time

 

[nickie]

In my experience, with 6 toms drumming at once it is quite easy to hear. The puff up for their strut then you have 2 distinct sounds, pffft, thwmmmmmmm. One of my favorite parts of having turkeys.

 

[ramirezframing]

OOH, I gonna have to lock the kids up in the house the next time I feed so I can listen. With three running screaming kids on top of all the birds and dogs saying fed me fed me, its hard to hear anything

 

[nickie]

OOH, I gonna have to lock the kids up in the house the next time I feed so I can listen. With three running screaming kids on top of all the birds and dogs saying fed me fed me, its hard to hear anything 

I completely understand...

 

[frank53061]

That's great Information but what about is there a air sack near the Toms chest or is this just a enormous amount of feathers.
I have patted one on the chest after picking it up while it was displaying and it felt almost like a air sack and sounded like a drum.
The Prairie Chicken that does this during its dance but you can see the Skin while its doing it more so near the neck of the bird.

 

[nickie]

They do have an air sack, during processing it appears to be an extension of their crop. If you watch them close enough you can see them inflate it. I think, but am not sure, that this may have something to do with their gobble.

 

[Mike Winters]

i think the snort sound is them inflating the air sac and then they make a infrasonic drumming sound when they deflate it.