When can you tell male from female in bronze?

[ColbyNTX]

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It could be! If they came from a hatchery then they could have been sexed. Seems in chickens people want hens but in turkeys people want toms for eating and their beauity.

 

[MissTurkey4]

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No, All poults have female plumage when they are small.

 

[Thomasturkey]

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No, All poults have female plumage when they are small.

Thanks, I figured that was the case so I did some research. Here is a little of what I found at http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/upland/turkey.htm .



The breeding colors and actions of spring are not so obvious as fall arrives, but if you take time (if there is time) to study your quarry, you can still usually tell the males from the females. Fall turkeys are often found in flocks. The biggest birds in a flock are generally adult males. However, if you run across a hen with her brood, size might not be the best indicator of sex. In addition, if you encounter a single bird, you have no basis for size comparison.

Still, sex identification of turkeys is relatively simple if the bird is close enough and you have a second or two to examine it.

Breast feathers on male turkeys, both juveniles and adults, are all black year round, with one exception. In the fall, if a juvenile male turkey hasn't gone through postjuvenal molt, its breast feathers may resemble those of a female (black with a buff/tan outer edge), Tripp said.

Tripp also says it's important for hunters to send in the breast feathers from the immediate area of the breast bone. Feathers off to either side could still be juvenile feathers, and therefore look like those of a female. The postjuvenal molt starts at the breast bone and progresses outward, Tripp said. If the turkey you see appears to be all black, it's a male.

Breast feathers on female turkeys have a tan or light brown band on the outside edge, and the rest of the feather is not as dark as that of a male. A photo in this section shows male and female breast feathers side-by-side, and the difference is fairly obvious. Combined with the rest of the feathers on the breast, a female turkey appears lighter in color than a male

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

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[MissTurkey4]

Steve why don't you share with us a picture of your own male bronze poult. You have had poults this year haven't you?

Steve do you know that a turkey goes through 4 molts before he gets his adult plumage.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I think Steve is more like me and we just don't take pictures every week of every stage as they grow. I am terrible about keeping their age every week as they change but I know when they are about 3 months I can tell for sure what they are. It has never been very important to me how many molts they have or when the snood starts to get longer ect. The only thing I care about is, is it ready to be butchered or breed. They just need to post a pic so we can see.

 

[MissTurkey4]

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I know Steve had his camera out to show off his quail he hatched. I just have not seen a turkey poult. It would be best if when he gave examples on sexing poults by feather sexing, he would use a poult in his example.

 

[Jmiller429]

wow. feelin pushy? try googling turkey poult at (insert number here) month.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

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[MissTurkey4]

Pushy, not me. But you know I did try googling. You know what I found? Not one bronze poult with a black breast. Gee I wonder why everyone is female. LOL