Turkeys are the quintessential Thanksgiving icon and an important North American bird. In fact, Benjamin Franklin made the case for the turkey as the national bird of the United States! However, the turkey famously lost to the bald eagle by a single vote. Most everyone knows what the colorful and enigmatic tom turkey looks like, but can you tell the difference between a turkey hen and a jake turkey?
Turkey hunting is an exciting sport that requires skills in calling, concealment, and most importantly, properly identifying your target. It can be challenging for novice hunters to distinguish a jake turkey from a mature tom or hen. This guide will provide you with the key characteristics to look for when trying to identify a jake in the field.
What is a Jake Turkey?
A jake is a young male turkey less than one year old. Jake turkeys are adolescents that have not yet reached full maturity. They are independent from the mother hen, but still honing their survival skills and gobbling abilities. Jakes have shorter beards, duller feathers, and less developed spurs than mature tom turkeys
Jake turkeys are legal game during spring turkey season in most states. Some hunters choose to pass on jakes in hopes of bagging a trophy tom, while others are happy to harvest any legal bird. Shooting a jake can be a great opportunity to introduce a new hunter to the sport.
Identifying Characteristics of Jake Turkeys
Here are the traits to look for when distinguishing a jake in the field
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Tail feathers – A jake’s central tail feathers are longer than the outer feathers giving the fan a stunted look. Mature toms have full evenly fanned tails.
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Beard length – A jake’s beard is typically less than 5 or 6 inches long. Mature toms normally have beards over 9 inches.
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Spur length – Jake spurs are blunt and less than 0.5 inches long. Tom spurs exceed 1 inch.
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Head color – A jake’s head is often stained blue, without the vibrant red coloration of a mature gobbler.
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Body feathers – Jake body feathers will appear more drab overall compared to the iridescent black sheen of a tom.
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Gobble – A jake’s gobble is weaker, higher pitched and may include odd yelping notes. A mature tom produces a robust, drawn-out gobble.
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Strutting – When a jake fans his tail, the middle feathers stick up higher than the rest of the fan. A tom’s tail spreads evenly in a full fan.
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Head caruncles – The fleshy growths on a jake’s head and neck are smaller and less pronounced compared to a tom.
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Size – Jake turkeys are noticeably smaller in body size compared to mature toms.
Tips for Positively Identifying a Jake
Follow these tips when trying to confirm your target is a jake turkey:
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Wait to clearly see the bird’s beard, spurs and fanned tail before shooting. Be 100% certain of your target.
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Study turkeys and practice identifying hens, jakes and toms while scouting before the season. Bring binoculars.
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If you’re unsure between a jake and hen, wait to see if the bird gobbles or struts. Hens do not perform these behaviors.
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Pay attention to wing feathers when the turkey is standing broadside. Jake wing feathers will feature drab bars compared to a tom’s solid black.
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Listen for weaker, erratic gobbling and yelping as evidence of a jake. Mature toms make robust gobbles.
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Note the bird’s mannerisms like timidness, less aggressive strutting, and subordinate behavior if with other turkeys.
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Observe the turkey’s head coloration when it is relaxed as well as excited. Mature toms display vibrant red heads when excited.
Proper identification is a critical part of ethical, responsible turkey hunting. Avoid snap judgements and follow these tips to be absolutely sure your target is a bearded jake before pulling the trigger this spring hunting season. With practice, you will gain confidence identifying jakes from toms and hens.
What Is a Jake Turkey?
To learn how to distinguish jakes from turkey hens, you need to be able to answer the question “What is a jake turkey?” Though jakes can look a bit like turkey hens, or females, a jake turkey is a male that has not reached sexual maturity. A baby male turkey, or a poult, becomes a jake at about one year of age. Once he reaches two years old, he is known as a tom turkey.
Jake turkeys have a few key characteristics that can help you identify them. First, they have a short beard, which is a cluster of wiry black feathers growing from the center of their chest. Next, they have distinctively longer tail feathers in the middle of their tail. When jakes raise their tail feathers to display to females or other males, the middle feathers stand out an inch or two above the rest of their tail. Finally, jakes have short spurs growing from the backs of their legs. They will eventually use these spurs to fight with other males for breeding rights over females.
Turkey Hen Identification
The best way to tell a hen from a jake is to take a closer look at the typical characteristics of a hen turkey. Neither males nor females have feathers on their heads, and both can have some coloration of their heads and faces. However, while males have brightly colorful heads that flush red, white or blue depending on their excitement level, hens generally have dull gray or blue color on their heads. Females also do not grow the characteristic fleshy wattles on their face or neck like tom turkeys do.
Additionally, though bearded hens do exist, 95 percent of hens do not grow a beard on their chest like their male counterparts. Even rare bearded hens have short and wispy beards compared to those of males. Finally, hens do not grow spurs on their legs like jake turkeys and toms do.
How to tell a Jake from a Hen Turkey live example
FAQ
At what age does a Jake become a Tom?
Jakes are year-old immature male turkeys, which lack the long beard, leg spurs and full tail fan of a mature tom, which is a male at least two years old. Instead of a long, 8-10-inch beard hanging from the center of its chest, like a mature tom, jakes sport stubby little three or four-inch beards.
How do you know if a Turkey is a Jake or Tom?
Jared lives in eastern Iowa with his wife Jacky and daughter Remi. Jared Mills explains a few ways to determine whether a turkey is a Jake or a Tom. The factors he goes over are beard length, spur length, fan, and gobble.
What is the difference between a Jake and a tom turkey?
In the jake vs. tom turkey comparison, beard length, spur size and tail feathers all come into play. The tail feathers provide the easiest identification because you can see them from a distance and they require no measuring. Jake turkey tails stick up noticeably in the middle, while toms have uniform tail feathers.
How do you tell a Tom from a Jake?
Toms have spurs 1/2 inch or longer, with males over five often having spurs over 1 1/2 inches. As you can see, by remembering a few key points about Toms, you can tell them apart from Jakes. Having said all that, it’s a field estimate, not a science. While turkey beards grow about 4” a year, a lot can cause a Tom’s beard to be much shorter.
What kind of beard does a Jake Turkey have?
Birds known as “super jakes” can have beards up to six inches in length. Jake turkeys will typically have short, rounded spurs. These will usually measure less than half an inch in length. Mature gobblers will have sharp, pointed spurs greater than half an inch unless they have broken them off for some reason.
How do you know if a Jake Turkey is a gobbler?
Jake turkeys will typically have short, rounded spurs. These will usually measure less than half an inch in length. Mature gobblers will have sharp, pointed spurs greater than half an inch unless they have broken them off for some reason. The tell-tale sign of a jake (no pun intended) is the length of the tail feathers.
How do you know if a bird is a Jake or Tom?
Spur Length Finally, spur length, if you’re close enough to see them, is a pretty good giveaway for whether the bird is a Jake or a Tom. A Jake is usually going to have really short half-inch or less spurs that are pretty much just rounded, kind of like a little mound.