When do turkey chicks lose their neck and head feathers?

[reveriereptile]

I have some turkey chicks that are a month old and they still have their feathers. I was wondering when they will start to lose them? I'll miss their feathers since it is soft to pet and they loved to have their necks pet. Two of them will puff their self up like a big Tom when they get jealous that I'm giving another one attention and not them. Also at what age can you tell the males and females apart. I know I have 2 out of 5 that are males from them showing off but I don't know about the other ones. It was the cutest thing when my first one started to puff up. He would do it after he ate his grass and he would walk over to my hand and get on it and then try to take a bath on my hand. Have no clue why he thought he needed to take a bath on it but it was so cute. They are the giant white turkeys unluckily since they won't be breeding and my boyfriends dad is going to eat the males which the biggest ones are the most friendly and tame.

 

[Corona~Barb]

My 10 wk old poults have lost most of the hair on their heads/necks already. The hens won't lose it as far down the necks and will keep a stripe on the head. Both sexes will strut when young but only the toms will strut as they get older. My (supposed) hens don't strut anymore. It depends on how fast your turkeys are maturing, as far as telling which are which. I have two BBWs that I know are toms (snoods are growing, caruncles (bumps) on the necks, one isn't doing that yet, so I think it's a hen. I'm still not sure with the BBBs. One is larger and snood looks bigger, one is much smaller, as is the snood, one is ???

 

[warcard]

Over the next couple weeks you will start seeing less feathering on the heads. My 6 wk olds are getting fairly bald. It will probably be another month at least before you can be fairly sure on the sex.

Mine will gobble when we whistle certain pitches, but our mature male normally starts them off (yeah I know not much help, if you don't have a mature male

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