With the holidays coming up, turkeys are on many people’s minds But do you actually know the proper terms for referring to male and female turkeys? Understanding turkey terminology can be useful whether you’re raising turkeys, hunting wild ones, or just looking to expand your poultry knowledge Let’s explore what you call the adult and juvenile female turkeys.
Adult Female Turkeys: Hens
The most common name for an adult female turkey is a hen. This term is used for domesticated and wild turkeys once they reach maturity typically around 16 weeks of age.
Some key facts about hen turkeys:
- Weigh 8-15 pounds compared to over 20 pounds for males
- Lay 7-10 eggs within 1-2 weeks in the spring
- Incubate the eggs for 28 days before they hatch
- Make yelping and clucking vocalizations rather than gobbles
- Build nests on the ground hidden in vegetation
- Primarily care for poults (baby turkeys) after hatching
So if you see a smaller, less colorful turkey without a pronounced snood or wattle, chances are it’s a hen.
Juvenile Female Turkeys: Jennies
Young female turkeys under 16 weeks old are called jennies. This term is used until they reach maturity and become hens.
Identifying a jenny can be tricky since juvenile males and females look quite similar. A few tips:
- Jennies may have slightly smaller legs and feet
- Jennies tend to have a less prominent snood and wattle
- Jennies make higher pitched yelping vocalizations
Once a jenny survives to adulthood, it graduates to being called a hen. The name jenny is specific for adolescent female turkeys.
Female Turkey Terminology by Age
To summarize turkey terminology for females:
- Poults – newly hatched babies
- Jennies – young females under 16 weeks
- Hens – adult females over 16 weeks
So if you see a young, smaller female turkey, she’s likely a jenny. And a full grown female is called a hen.
Groups of Female Turkeys
When multiple female turkeys are together, there are also special terms:
- Hen and poults – a female with her young
- Brood – a group of poults led by a hen
- Flock – mixed group of males and females
Why the Name Hen?
You may be wondering why we call female turkeys hens. This naming comes from the similarity to chickens, where the adult female is also called a hen.
Early American colonists who began raising turkeys based some of the terminology on familiar chicken lingo. So the name hen was applied to mature female turkeys as well.
Other Turkey Terminology Facts:
- Male turkeys are called toms or gobblers
- Juvenile males are called jakes
- Baby turkeys are called poults
- A group of turkeys can be called a flock or rafter
So next time you’re carving up the holiday bird, you can accurately refer to it as a hen turkey thanks to knowing the proper terminology!
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.
What Are Female Turkeys Called? – PickHunting.com
FAQ
What do you call a female and male turkey?
A male turkey is called a tom or a gobbler, a female turkey a hen, and a baby turkey a poult or chick. A young male turkey is called a jake and a young female is called a jenny. A group of wild turkeys is called a flock, a group of domesticated turkeys is commonly referred to as a rafter.
Is a female turkey called a tom?
The sex designation of “hen” (female) or “tom” (male) turkey is optional on the label, and is an indication of size. Toms are larger but both toms and hens should be equally tender.
What is the name of a female turkey?
| Name | Gender | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Melek | Girl | Angel |
| Adah | Girl | Adornment; Ornament; Noble; First-born girl; Island |
| Elif | Girl | One with a slender body; Shaped like an elif |
| Zeynep | Girl | Fragrant flowering tree; Beauty; Life of Zeus |
Is a female turkey called a jenny?
Wild turkeys are found throughout North America. A young male is called a “jake,” while a young female is a “jenny.” Young wild turkeys are pursued by many predators, including bobcats, foxes and eagles.
How do you call a female Turkey a hen?
You can call female turkey as a hen, male as gobbler or tom, young ones as chick, poult or turkeylings. For naming young males. Iake is a specific term whereas for young females use the term, Jenny. It is a common observation that female turkeys look like a hen. So, people call them a hen.
What are alternative names for turkeys?
Here’s a breakdown of these alternative names: Jenny: This term is typically used for young female turkeys, particularly those under a year old. Poult: This term refers to a baby turkey, regardless of gender. However, it can also be used specifically for young female turkeys.
What are the different types of female turkeys?
There are several breeds of female turkeys, each with distinct characteristics in terms of size, plumage color, and egg-laying capabilities. Some popular breeds of hens include the Bourbon Red, Narragansett, and Royal Palm, each with its unique traits and suitability for various purposes.
Are male and female turkeys similar?
At first glance, it may seem that male and female turkeys are quite similar. However, upon closer examination, you will see that there are many differences between the two. From behavior to appearance, these birds have distinct characteristics that set them apart from one another.
How do you know if a baby turkey is male or female?
To determine the gender of a baby turkey, examine its vent, which is located beneath its tail and between its legs. If the vent appears bumpy, the poult is male; if it is flat, the poult is female. You can also determine its gender by picking it up and observing whether the chick pulls its legs up or leaves them dangling.
What is the correct name for a baby turkey?
The correct name of a baby turkey depends on which kind of turkey you’re talking about. There are only two wild species of turkey in the world, the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is the one Americans are likely to find walking through their yard and is found in every U.S. state except Alaska.