The beard – that bushy plumage protruding from a male turkey’s chest – is one of the most recognizable features of wild turkeys. But do turkey hens also grow beards? Occasionally yes. While less common than in males bearded female turkeys do exist in the wild.
Why Do Male Turkeys Have Beards?
In male turkeys, also called toms or gobblers the beard plays several key roles
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Sexual dimorphism – The beard helps distinguish males from females during mating season.
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Display – Toms use their beards in courtship displays to attract hens Longer beards signal fitness,
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Dominance – Beard length correlates to testosterone, establishing dominance hierarchies among males.
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Protection – The coarse hairs may cushion blows during fights between rival males.
So the beard provides male wild turkeys with reproductive and survival advantages. But why would a female grow one?
What Percentage of Hens Have Beards?
While most female turkeys do not have prominent beards, a small percentage of hens do develop them:
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Approximately 10-20% of adult female turkeys may have some degree of beard.
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Studies show 3-15% of hens have a beard over 2 inches long.
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In one large sample, 11% of wild female turkeys had a detectable beard.
So while the majority of hens remain beardless, bearded females are not exceptionally rare, occurring in about 1 in 10 wild turkey hens overall.
Why Would a Hen Grow a Beard?
Scientists have a few theories as to why some female turkeys sprout beards:
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Genetics – There may be a genetic factor, linked to testosterone, that triggers beard growth.
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Age – Older hens are more likely to develop beards than younger females.
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Aggression – Bearded hens tend to show higher aggression and social dominance.
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Alternative strategy – Bearded females may gain reproductive advantages by appearing more male-like.
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Environmental factors – Prevalence seems to vary by region, possibly due to conservation reintroductions.
So the leading hypothesis is that bearded hens represent an alternate reproductive tactic to maximize fitness.
Differences Between Male and Female Turkey Beards
Even though they both may grow beards, there are clear distinctions between male and female turkeys:
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Male beards are generally over 10 inches long, while female beards remain under 3 inches.
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Male beards are thick, coarse, and hair-like. Female beards are thinner and wispier.
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Males use beards extensively in breeding displays. Females do not display their beards.
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Males have additional features like snoods, leg spurs, and predominant white coloration. Hens lack these.
So male turkey beards are far more pronounced than female beards both visually and functionally.
Is It Legal to Hunt a Bearded Hen?
Because beards occur in a minority of hens, most states prohibit harvesting bearded females during spring turkey season. Their reproduction is valuable to sustain populations. However, regulations vary by state, so hunters should consult local guidelines.
Identifying a Bearded Hen vs a Jake
Since young male turkeys (jakes) also have small beards, a short beard alone does not indicate a female. Look for other female features like a blue-gray head, lack of leg spurs, and brownish body feathers. An experienced hunter can distinguish a bearded hen from a jake.
Other Turkey Features Besides Beards
While beards may be the most familiar trait, wild turkeys have other distinctive features:
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Snoods – The fleshy growth on a male’s forehead and bill. It can change color during mating displays.
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Caruncles – Bumps and growths on the head and neck. They become bright red and white in males.
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Wattles – The flap of skin under the beak that turns vibrant colors. Both males and females have wattles.
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Spurs – The sharp spikes on a male’s legs used for fighting rivals. Hens do not have spurs.
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Feather Tips – Males have black-tipped feathers, while female feathers have buff-colored tips.
Turkey Basics-Gobblers and Hens
Let’s begin with the basics of distinguishing male wild turkeys (gobblers) from females (hens).
Gobblers are larger-bodied birds, with a darker coloration, at times appearing almost black. In bright sunlight, their feathers cast a brilliant bronze or metallic iridescence. Gobblers have a featherless, red head (sometimes with blue and white coloring, too) with prominent wattle and fleshy, red growths (called caruncles) on their neck. They also have a “beard”—a tuft of black, hair-like strands—protruding from their chest.
On adult gobblers (called toms), the beard can be 7-9 inches or more in length, but on young gobblers (called jakes) the beard is <6 inches long. Typically, gobblers hang out away from hens during the summer since they take no part in raising young.
Hens are more brown in coloration and smaller in size than gobblers. They have a head that is more blue-gray in appearance, often with feathers continuing up the back of the head.
Occasionally hens will have a beard, but it is thinner than on gobblers and is quite often kinked. Hens can also have some feather iridescence, but not to the same extent as gobblers.
How many gobblers and hens do you see in this picture?
2 gobblers (both jakes, note the larger size, less-feathered red heads, and tiny stubble of a beard protruding from the chest of the jake on the right), 4 hens (one mostly hidden behind a jake, but you still can clearly see the typical head of a hen turkey poking out), 1 unknown. If we were here in person live, the birds would move about and we could probably determine that the unknown is another jake, but given what we can see in this photo, it’s best to just call this partially obstructed bird an unknown.
Poults develop very quickly (they must in order not to be eaten!) and feather types, appearance, and body size change rapidly as they age. Based on these characteristics, we can estimate the age of poults. For simplicity, we divide poults into three age classes.
1 week old or younger. Poults that are no more than about a week old are still covered with downy feathers and are very small (<5-6 inches tall). They look like little puff balls about the size of your fist.
Turkey Poult Class 1
2-5 weeks old. Poults in this class have grown longer wing feathers, but still are mostly covered with downy feathers on their body and still lack long tail feathers. They are about 6-10 inches tall, similar in size to a Blue Jay. In appearance, they look to be all wings (which is good because it means now they can fly into low trees to escape ground predators). Poults on the older end of this age class will have started to grow some juvenile plumage on their bodies, but still have short tail feathers.
Hen with class 2 age group poults
Hen with older class 2 age-group poult (borderline class 3)
Hen with class 2 age group poults
6-8 weeks or older. Poults early in this stage still have some down feathers occurring on the neck and head, but their body is covered with juvenile type contour feathers. They have visible tail feathers now, black-and-white barred wing feathers are emerging, and they stand about 10-12 inches tall, similar in size to a crow or a chicken. By about 8 weeks of age, poults are beginning to grow new “adult” looking body feathers and will have a mixture of juvenile feathers and adult feathers on their body. They are about half the size of the hen and will continue to grow to almost the same size as the hen by the end of the summer. Turkey Poults
Because they are very similar in size, late in the summer it can be very challenging to determine if a group of similar-sized turkeys is a flock of hens without poults or a hen and her older-age-class brood. If you’re unsure, it’s best to mark them as unknowns.
Multi Bearded Turkey & Turkey Beard Fun Facts
FAQ
Do female turkeys get a beard?
A small proportion of female turkeys may have a beard and therefore can be legally harvested. However, their loss reduces the reproductive potential of the turkey population. To avoid misidentification, use the following features below to accurately determine the turkey’s sex.
How rare is a hen turkey with a beard?
Up to 10 percent of hens will have thin 6- to 8-inch beards. These hens represent a valuable segment of the turkey nesting population and hunters are urged to pass on them whenever possible.
What causes a hen turkey to have a beard?
Sometimes hens will sport a beard. Scientists have estimated that approximately 10% of hens will have beards. They are almost always very thin and rarely get over 8 inches. No one knows why this is, but a theory on their abundance is due to trapping and relocating birds.
How can you tell if a turkey is male or female?
Male turkeys have shinier feathers than female birds. They also have feathery “beards” on their chest, which females typically don’t have.
Do Turkey hens have beards?
Most turkey hens do not have beards. About 10 percent to 20 percent do have them, but they are much smaller than gobbler’s. Less than 10 percent of hens have a single small spur. Bearded hens can reproduce and raise offspring. Turkey beards grow from the chest of gobblers.
Do female turkeys have beards?
It might be surprising to hear but some female turkeys have beards. It is far from common for female turkeys to have beards, however, some hens are exceptions. Generally, female turkeys have bare chests, devoid of hair or any bristle-like growth. It is not known with certainty why some females have beards while others do not.
Do bearded hens grow beards?
While most toms grow beards, most hens do not, although it’s not uncommon for them to do so. So, are bearded hens any different than “normal” hens? The answer is no. Bearded hens breed, lay clutches of eggs, hatch those eggs, and successfully raise broods, just like any other hen.
What is a turkey beard?
The turkey beard is a bundle of feathers looking like a miniature horsetail dangling from the breast area. It is not hair but a cluster of stiff filaments or hair-like bristles. The beard of a turkey grows from the papilla located on the upper portion of the breast. The papilla is an oval-shaped, raised part of the skin in the chest region.
Are bearded hens legal in Georgia?
Either way, bearded hens are not legal game in the state of Georgia. In some areas they are; Florida, for example, defines legal game during spring turkey season as “bearded turkey or gobbler.” Not so in GA, which specifies “gobblers.” Come turkey season, I hunted long and hard for a mature gobbler, beginning on opening morning.
How do Turkey hens distinguish males from females?
Males’ feces can be distinguished from females’ due to its spiral shape. In spring, mature turkey hens determine the timing of breeding. Toms begin their cacophonous gobbling sounds, alerting other males and females. In addition to gobbling, toms make elaborate displays to attract females.