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Aging Turkeys

meatmuzzy

By meatmuzzy,
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gfdeputy2 Newbie

gfdeputy2

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I often wondered too here is what I found:

Aging a wild turkey is not an exact science. Knowing the difference between a juvenile bird, also known as a jake, and a mature gobbler is simple enough. The tail feathers on a jake will be irregular when they are fanning. The middle feathers will stand higher than the feathers on the side of the tail. Their beards stick out instead of down and usually measure just two or three inches. A mature gobbler’s beard hangs down and may even drag on the ground when they walk.

After putting a gobbler on the ground, most hunters want to know how old the bird is. If the spurs are between a ½” and an inch, there’s a good chance the bird is a two year old. These spurs usually protrude straight out. If the spurs are over an inch long and have a curve to them, this gobbler is more than likely three years old or older. These are known as limb hanging spurs. You can literally hang the turkey on a tree limb by the spurs.

turkey%20beard.jpgMeasuring beards is another way to age a gobbler. A two year old tom will have a 5 to 7 inch beard. A three year old turkey’s beard typically measure eight inches plus. Again, the math gets fuzzy from this point as well. The beard of a wild turkey continues to grow throughout life. A beard of 12 inches or more is possible. However, the ends of the beard will wear off as it drags on the ground. This is especially true for turkeys in rocky habitat. Ice will build up and break sections of the beard off in cold climates.

These measurements are good rules of thumb, but you can never be certain. There are a lot of environmental factors affecting how a turkey ages. Wildlife studies have shown some birds lost length on their spurs as they age. This is especially true if a gobbler survives to five years of age. Aging a turkey up to three years old is fairly simple. However, it is nearly impossible to age a turkey beyond three years of age.

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123 Newbie

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Aging based on Physical Attributes

 

Spur lengths tend to be the most reliable indicator of age. Spurs are used for fighting and defense, and combined with attitude of the bird are a significant factor in dominance over other birds.  A general guide to spur length verses age is shown in (Table 3.) In both tables- 3 & 4, regard this as a generic rule of thumb with the conclusions subject to debate between biologists, and especially turkey hunters. As birds get older it is more difficult to estimate age, as measurements overlap, and data is more difficult to obtain. As with beard length and body weights, typical measurements will vary depending on subspecies, geographic region, soil types, and weather conditions.

 

Spur Length Range        Typical Spur Length        Estimated Age

 

0.0000” - 0.5000”            0.2500”                           1 Year (Jake)

 

0.6250” - 0.8750”            0.7500”                           2 Years

 

0.8750” - 1.1250”            1.0000”                           3 Years

 

1.0000” - 1.3750”            1.2500”                           4 Years

 

1.2500” - 1.6250”            1.5000”                           5 Years

 

> 1.6250”                         > 1.6250”                        Greater > 5 Years

 

Table 3: Spur length verses age

 

 

Beards grow an average of four inches a year, and in the end are affected by growth versus wear rates. Beards break off quite often, lose or break the longer strands, and are a much less reliable indicator of age. Beards are also prone to breakage in colder climate regions where the beards can become wet, and freeze into clumps of ice. As beards get longer, they eventually contact the ground or stepped on. It is thought to be the major source of wear & breakage. Beard length may also be affected by lack of melanin (dark color pigment) or infestation by mites. A general guide to beard length verses age is shown in (Table 4.)

 

 

Beard Length Range            Typical Beard Length            Estimated Age

 

0.0000” - 5.0000”                 4.0000”                                  1 Year (Jake)

 

6.0000” - 9.5000”                 9.0000”                                  2 Years

 

9.0000” - 11.0000”               10.0000”                                3 Years

 

> 11.0000”                            > 11.0000”                             Greater > 4 Years

 

Table 4: Beard length verses age

 

 

Body weight is considered an unreliable age indicator for a variety of reasons. In general terms, jakes will weigh less than 14lbs-15lbs, and two-year-old gobblers will weigh in between 17lbs-20lbs. After two years of age, the weights can vary greatly. Old dominate gobblers are routinely reported that are tagged with live weights under 17lbs. This is especially common with late season gobblers after a long season of fighting, and breeding. Many old gobblers are found with little to no sponge fat left in the chest cavity. The peak weights have much more to do with food availability, quality of the food sources, and breeding activity of the gobbler, rather than the age of the bird. Many times two & three-year-old toms weigh more than a nasty old long hooked spurred gobbler that is doing the majority of breeding. 

 

from: Chapter- NWTF Wild Turkey Record System, "Empire State Limbhangers" a book schedule for 2016 release 

 

© 2015 Joyner Outdoor Media  

 

 

Edited by mookyj
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WNY Bowhunter Experienced

WNY Bowhunter

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Posted (edited)

http://www.turkeyandturkeyhunting.com/turkey-scratchings/brian-lovett-blog/turkeys-365-all-about-turkey-beards

 

When trying to determine whether a is a two year old or 3+ look at the tips of the beard under a light source...

 

IMG_1474.jpg

 

The beard on the left has orange/amber coloration on the tips = 2 year old.
The beard on the right has no orange tint at all because his beard has had an extra year to grow and the intitial "jake tip" portion of his beard has been worn off = 3 years or older

Edited by WNY Bowhunter
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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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what about this one?..Shot it this spring in Alabama, Came in strutting with 8 hens...weighed 20.5lbs

Full fan...short beard....Superjake or stunted gobbler?

Adult for sure.....how long are the spurs? They look better than an inch.......

I'm guesstimating 3-4 years old by the looks of the spurs in the pic.

Weight and beard mean little, IMO. The fan and the spurs generally tell you much.

The upper limits of stats in MY opinion in this area are as follows.........in other words; you don't see many birds with:

1.25" + Spurs

23+ pounds

11" + beards

For what its worth...........

Edited by Lawdwaz
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WNY Bowhunter Experienced

WNY Bowhunter

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Adult for sure.....how long are the spurs? They look better than an inch.......

I'm guesstimating 3-4 years old by the looks of the spurs in the pic.

Weight and beard mean little, IMO. The fan and the spurs generally tell you much.

The upper limits of stats in MY opinion in this area are as follows.........in other words; you don't see many birds with:

1.25" + Spurs

23+ pounds

11" + beards

For what its worth...........

 

I agree on all counts. 

 

First, the bird in the photo is an adult tom with a short beard.  Look at the wing covert feathers...they tell the story (as do the spurs). Also, your limits are spot on for my area too...

Edited by WNY Bowhunter
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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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Posted

Lawdwaz and WNYBow are spot on concerning the stats of WNY gobblers.

In 40 years of gobbler hunting in Steuben County I have only seen perhaps 3 birds that weighed 23 pounds or over..One was a 2 year old and one was a slammer that weighed 25 pounds on a certified scale, had twin 10" beards and 1.5" spurs... My personal heaviest NY bird weighed 22.5 lb. I also once weighed a 2 year gobbler that weighed 12 pounds.. he seemed perfectly healthy, but was just a little guy, like me...<grin>.....

I have never taken a gobbler with an 11 inch beard, and have seen only a few.

I have only killed one bird with spurs over 1.25 inches, and a handful with with 1.25" hooks...I have taken a fair number of birds with spurs from 1" to 1.125", which I have always figured were 3 year olds.

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dbHunterNY Proficient

dbHunterNY

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i don't know turkeys that well to age them like I can deer.  I always thought any bird with longer center tail feathers was a jake and other a longbeard (2+ yrs old).  I've seen what I consider super jakes with a very noticeably larger quantity of fan feathers that are longer, closer toward a 4" beard but usually under 5", and spurs were half inch nubs (maybe just a jake born sooner in the year?).  also always thought beard length and weight was inconsistent.  spur length was more consistent with lengths and age similar to what's been mentioned.  logic would tell me it's probably no different than aging a deer in that you've got to look at all the characteristics as a whole and not just go by one or possibly two things.  also always thought length of snood was an indicator of age but I know now it's more related to dominance or a birds feelin's about the situation it's in.  if two birds are coming over the rise and I can see only tops of heads and tail feathers the bird with the longer snood is probably the older one (that's more dominant).  never knew the light reddish tint thing.

 

...definitely an interesting read this post is.

 

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Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

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i don't know turkeys that well to age them like I can deer.  I always thought any bird with longer center tail feathers was a jake and other a longbeard (2+ yrs old).  I've seen what I consider super jakes with a very noticeably larger quantity of fan feathers that are longer, closer toward a 4" beard but usually under 5", and spurs were half inch nubs (maybe just a jake born sooner in the year?).  also always thought beard length and weight was inconsistent.  spur length was more consistent with lengths and age similar to what's been mentioned.  logic would tell me it's probably no different than aging a deer in that you've got to look at all the characteristics as a whole and not just go by one or possibly two things.  also always thought length of snood was an indicator of age but I know now it's more related to dominance or a birds feelin's about the situation it's in.  if two birds are coming over the rise and I can see only tops of heads and tail feathers the bird with the longer snood is probably the older one (that's more dominant).  never knew the light reddish tint thing.

 

...definitely an interesting read this post is.

 

 

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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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I don't know, DB...

 

Lawdwaz has a longer snood than I do

 

Darn good looking snood too I've been told in private.................................but we'll keep THAT private.

 

 

 

;)

 

 

Gobble Gobble!!!!!!!!!!!

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dbHunterNY Proficient

dbHunterNY

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I don't know, DB...

 

Lawdwaz has a longer snood than I do, but I am definitely an older gobbler.....

 

not sure if there's enough truth to the snood theory to mean anything.  not sure how it translates without referencing turkeys....

 

idk though maybe there's a difference in temperament between you two.  or maybe lawd thinks he can strut better.

 

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