What sex are my Bourbon Red turkeys? (almost 20 weeks)

[mprivett]

Hello fellow turkey friends,

We are trying to figure out the sex of our three Bourbon Red turkeys. At first we thought we had one tom and two hens because one is slightly larger than the other, but now they all look so much alike it's hard to tell! All of them have that thin line of feathers running up their necks and heads. I have noticed some darker edging on the feathers on at least one of them, but in all my photos it looks like they have light edging on the feathers. You can see more pictures of them and read about them on my blog (Restoring the Roost). I have noticed one of them is a bit more standoffish (I think) but then again I can't always tell them apart. They will sometimes puff up at the chickens, gang up on them and bully them together to chase them off.

They are SUPER inquisitive and want to be by my side all the time, into whatever I'm doing, following me everywhere and up in my face. They are like little shadows that "bark" all the time, never leaving us alone!

 

[Wyandottes7]

I'm not a turkey expert, but I think that you have three hens.

 

[Jesz]

Looks like hens to me.

 

[mprivett]

Okay, thanks. Hmmm......was not expecting to have all hens. Hopefully I can find a BR tom turkey somewhere close by! I'd love to save a pair for breeding.

 

[Lorilyn Farms]

At what age do the BRs get their coloring? Mine are all still white with very faint red on one. They are a month old.

 

[ChickenFootFarm]

mprivett...those are beautiful pictures.

 

[frank53061]

I have Bourbon Reds and they all look to be Hens to me to bad your not closer to me I have 3 extra Toms.
Good looking Hens.

 

[chicken pickin]

At what age do the BRs get their coloring? Mine are all still white with very faint red on one. They are a month old.

BRs don't hatch white They are tannish in color and as they age they are tannish/white and then the tan turns brown then kind of a deep reddish brown. Are you sure yours are BRs.

This is what my month old BRs look like(not a good pic but you get the idea) Is this what yours looks like?

 

[chicken pickin]

To the OP your pics look like all Hens

 

[mprivett]

Thanks, everyone. My hubby took these pictures I used them on my blog for one of the posts so they are easy to post up somewhere else too. The turkeys coloring has definitely gotten darker and richer as the weeks go on. They are turning out really pretty in their feathering. I'm not sure what the Bourbon Red SOP is supposed to be, but I'd love to compare these to it for hens.

Frank53061- Oh I wish we were closer too! I desperately need a tom for breeding. I'd love to trade someone a hen for a tom if I could find one around here......