With turkey hunting, your success can often come down to how realistic your turkey calling is. If you’re squawking away on a box call, it can be a clear signal for a gobbler to stay away. But when you learn how to speak the language and make realistic hen turkey calls, you have a much better chance of sweet talking a tom into shooting range. But how do you learn how to mimic those sounds? Here are some tips you should keep in mind.
For those who haven’t spent time in the spring woods, the calls of a wild turkey hen can seem like a foreign language. But understanding the sounds and meanings behind the diverse vocalizations of the female turkey is key for hunters and wildlife enthusiasts alike. Let’s explore the question – what does a hen turkey sound like?
The Yelp
The most common call of the hen is the yelp. This is typically a series of one note chirps delivered in quick succession. A plain yelp is used when turkeys are in sight of each other and signals basic communication between birds.
A plain yelp can range from just 2-3 notes up to 9-10 notes. It has a uniform pitch and volume on each note with a cadence some describe as sounding like “yup, yup yup.”
The Lost Yelp
When a hen turkey gets separated from her flock, especially younger hens or those with poults she will let out a more emphatic lost yelp. This pleading call routinely includes over 20 notes ascending in volume, used to frantically relocate flock members.
The Assembly Yelp
An assembly yelp is the hen’s way of gathering scattered turkeys back together This loud call consists of an extended series of yelps growing in intensity and urgency
Hens use assembly yelps most often in fall when trying to regroup poults, with a sound mimicking “yuuuup, yuuuuuuup, yuuuuuup.”
The Excited Yelp
At times a hen communicates high excitement or agitation through an excited yelp. This resembles a plain yelp in notes and sound but with increased rapidity, volume and intensity.
It indicates the hen is worked up over something, like a territorial dispute.
The Cluck
Hens use the cluck to get attention, show breeding availability, and reassure approaching toms. The short, staccato one note call sounds like “tuck!”
A plain cluck is often just 2-3 single notes while a breeding cluck may repeat up to 9-10 times.
The Cutt
When excited, hen turkeys bust out the cutt call. This is a loud, insistent series of clucks also used to provoke a response from other hens.
Cutts indicate high emotion but not alarm. They have an unmistakable cadence: “tut..tut…tut…tut…tut!”
The Cackle
As turkeys fly down from the roost in early morning, they emit the very recognizable cackle call. This is a mix of 3-10 loud, staccato notes increasing in pitch.
It helps the flock keep track of each other when leaving the trees. It sounds much like “tuck, tuck, tut, tut, tut, tut!”
The Kee-Kee
Young poults wandering from the flock emit the kee-kee run, a signature sound in the fall woods. This is a series of 3 kee notes followed by a yelp. Mature hens make a raspier kee-kee to regroup.
The Putt
Hens use the alarmed putt call to warn of potential danger nearby. It’s a single or multiple sharp “putt!” notes that signal an urgent need to take caution.
The Purr
When content, hens communicate with a soft, rolling purr sound. This is a low, drawn-out “errrrr” that signals comfort and safety within the flock.
Tree Yelps
While still on the roost in early morning, hens communicate with soft tree yelps and clucks from the branches overhead. This signals their location to flock members before fly down.
Understanding Hen Vocalizations
From the pleading lost yelp to the sharp alarm putt, learning to distinguish the diverse vocalizations of the hen is an invaluable skill for hunters and wildlife watchers. Interpreting her language allows a glimpse into flock dynamics and Turkey behavior. Next time you’re in the spring woods, keep an ear out for the hen and her remarkable range of sounds.
How to Sound Like a Real Hen Turkey
You can watch all the turkey calling videos and tutorials on the internet, but nothing beats watching actual turkeys in the wild and replicating what they’re doing. Wild turkeys have many ways of communicating, and hen turkey calls have a lot of variability when it comes to tone and cadence. Some hens are higher or lower pitched than others, and some are aggressive callers, while others are quieter. By observing those differences and trying to mimic them on your own turkey calls, you can become infinitely better at calling turkeys.
In the video below, Michael has a close encounter with one of the most talkative hens around. If you haven’t ever been in a similar situation before, pay attention to how this hen acts and how she respond to Michael’s calls.
Best Wild Turkey Hen Calling and Yelping 2
FAQ
What sound do hen turkeys make?
The most commonly heard sound in the turkey woods is made by the hen, and it’s called a yelp. Toms also yelp, but it’s louder, raspier and often more drawn-out than that of hens. The yelp is usually delivered in a series of one-note tunes.
Do female turkeys make noise?
The plain yelp of a hen is a basic turkey sound and is often delivered in a series of single note vocalizations. The plain yelp can have different meanings depending on how the hen uses it, but it is basic turkey communication. It is also commonly used by a hen to communicate with a gobbler during mating season.
How do you tell if a turkey is a hen?
But the easiest and quickest way to identify your first year toms from your hens (even in the wild) is their chest feathers!! Once their chest feathers come in, toms have the more showy bronzed feathers with black tips and the hens have the more dull feathers with white tips!!
Does a hen turkey gobble?
For the record, hen turkeys are capable of gobbling but do so infrequently. Like other wildlife, wild turkeys are competitive creatures.Apr 25, 2020
Why do turkeys make a sound?
Turkeys that make this sound are normally worked up over something, probably a hen torn up over a tom, or hens fighting for dominance. Using this call can help you pick a fight with the dominant hen that is occupying your sought after gobbler.
Do turkeys make a gurgling sound?
There is a myth that only male turkeys can make the gobble sound; however, hens can make the loud, rapid gurgling, just as chicken hens can crow. A purr is a low, soft, rolling sound, like a kitten’s purr. A contented kitten will make a soft purring sound. A contented turkey also makes a soft purring sound.
What sound does a male turkey make?
By far the most recognizable of the turkey sounds, the gobble is one of the main sounds that a male turkey will use. This sound is also the reason we call toms/male turkeys “gobblers”. Male turkeys use this call to let every turkey in the area know he is there and he wants to mate.
Why do hens make clucking noises?
Mother turkeys sitting on eggs will make cluck and purr noises as she talks to her unhatched poults. The sound is reassuring and encouraging to the birds in their eggs. When a male approaches, hens become excited and make cutting noises. Cutting is a turkey sound that indicates a hen is excited.
Do humans hear the sounds made by wild turkeys?
Humans rarely hear most of the sounds made by wild turkeys. For communication purposes, they have developed a distinctive set of sounds. Some sounds are produced to communicate with a particular subset of birds or by members of a particular gender or age group.
How do you Cluck a hen turkey?
The key is to learn the proper context and intensity to generate a quality cluck. Cutting is a series of fast, loud clucks. Cutting is the most sexually aggressive of the hen turkey sounds.