Got a bearded hen :(

[Bowguy 1]

Zues the head was grayish. Look at some pics now n hopefully you see the difference

[zeus1gdsm]

Thanks for all the congrats guys!

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[Bowguy 1]

Another thing you can look for is the head on a hen has feathers going up back. There's much less mostly naked neck showing (there are hairs) n no wattles on a hen. And they're normally smaller n browner. Good luck rest of season

[GreeneHunter]

2nd season. First time ever i got a bird in range.. Bird hung up up about 50 yards away and was all puffed and strutting. It then relaxed and came in to my decoy.. I continued calling it in and used the binos to confirm the red and white head and the beard... Confirmed them both. And took the shot at 20 yards.

So excited to get what I had identified as a young Jake. I was fine with taking a Jake because of getting skunked last season. I only saw birds once last year.

You can imagine my disappointment when I turned the bird over looking for spurs and found none

Oh well learned a valuable lesson. Hopefully I can get a hen and Tom into range this season so I can see the differences in real-life... Only so much can be gleaned from hunting TV.

Note: to be clear had I recognized the bird as a hen I would not have taken it.

Crappy photo below.

On the plus side I learned alot. Actually called a bird in to me. Took it with a clean shot. Processed my first bird with only a crappy YouTube video for guidance. And now have the fan, a wing and beard curing so I can do a cheesy mount..

I do have one item that concerns me. The bird was missing the majority of its chest feathers. And the. Belly feathers that were there appeared to be molted/juvenile feathers.

I'm guessing it's just a case of a young bird that was still in process of getting it's new set. Thoughts?

DSC_0368.JPG

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Congrats .... wish it was me out there !

[Terry]

I forgot to say congratulations on your first turkey!

Also, if you want even more of it to be utilized, send me the wingbones!! Haha

[G-Man]

Legal bird why feel bad, one less to compete with you for a tom, I've seen and taken a couple in the fall. As for the identification of jake or hen.. hen beards tend to be thin (like a pencil) but can be long..a jake beard tends to be thicker and short and stick out strait, I've seen som jakes with 7 in beards that hang but in general they are 3.5 to 5.5 inches and will stick straight out

[Culvercreek hunt club]

And I bet it will be fine table fare. Enjoy. 

 

I can't get the pic to open and can only see it in the post. For me turkey hunting is different than how I deer hunt. if a bird has a beard it is taking a trip into the smoker...lol

[growalot]

Excuse me but........ Hen do have wattles, they are just smaller and not as red...they also get rather long and good beards...I have pm'd pics to some members  of a few of the ones on our place this year..one has a 7-9 in. beard...and yes hens some times have spurs as well..not as common as beards. Also I watched a hen this morning that had a distinct black head...not a hint of grey/blue...Go enjoy some tender wild turkey Congrats!

Edited May 3, 2016 by growalot

[Bowguy 1]

They don't have big puffy bag wattles

[Bowguy 1]

They don't have big puffy bag wattles

[Fletch]

One walks by me legal with a beard its getting shot! And I'll send you a pic of the fried turkey fillets I will be enjoying!!

 

Congratz on the bird!!

[growalot]

Your correct on that...Jakes also do not have big "puffy wattles" and BTW that's not the wattle it is the is called the caruncles and hens have those as well. I could post lots  and lots of pics where a Jakes head looks very much lot like a hen..not stock ones, taken this year...the 1-11 pic above was March of this year, cam was wrong....

Now this is all besides the point. Unless one was firmly situated in his lap seeing and feeling what he was at the time, then there should not be any second guessing. His words alone tell what will happen the next time he goes out. For now, good shot, good hunt,enjoy the meals to be had... period

[MACHINIST]

One walks by me legal with a beard its getting shot! And I'll send you a pic of the fried turkey fillets I will be enjoying!!

 

Congratz on the bird!!

 

Same here,just like I'd shoot a albino or piebald deer as long as I had a tag for it and it was in season.....If I see a bearded pterodactyl the next time I head out that SOB is going down also!!!!HAHAHA

[jjb4900]

any pictures of the beard? how long was it? 

[Buckmaster7600]

Congrats on the bird! And a double congrats on it being your first!! By the sounds of it you did a lot more to identify the bird that most others would do and I commend you for that as well. I had a "jenny" on my land for a couple years and I was hunting her because I think they are cool as heck.

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[Bowguy 1]

Growot with all due respect if jakes look like hens it's mid summer late fall. After that there is an obvious difference

[growalot]

That's OK...It's why I have hours of video  and thousands of cam pics. I work at basing my opinions on facts seen.

Now seeing is 1 part fact and 1 part mental referencing. If one isn't use to seeing substantially bearded hens in a flock then seeing a Jake not displaying his colors(a calm feeding stance) with a beard he's obviously a Jake...but to someone that routinely sees several well bearded big hens feeding with a bunch of Jakes and Toms...those calm colorless Jakes can look like a hen. 3 Jakes no puffy wattles, caruncles, long dangling snoods and smaller beards than the ones on several of our hens...but I can tell from the fact I have other pics of them strutting other than that...dark conditions no coloration from excitement...looks like hens to me.

[G-Man]

The hens head would appear redder when excited as it also flushes with blood, a blue gray and hint of red on a hen in spring it's very possible to mistake for a jake,

the beard is what you have to look for, almost shot a tom with no beard once, nice spurs full fan , no beard so it wasn't legal had to let it walk.. the brown tipped vs black tipped feathers are only sure way to tell youbg tom from hen. Besides gutting them..

Oh yes hens will strut and gobble as well weirdest thing to see in person!! To the op just check for beard!! That's what is legal, the rest is a bunch of extra stuff you don't need to worry about!!

Edited May 3, 2016 by G-Man

[ants]

A relatively new turkey hunter, who has never had a tom in range, finally gets a legal, bearded, puffed, bird  close enough to shoot and does shoot it. If he left his house at 430 AM to get to his spot, 13.8 miles away, and traveled 41 MPH, what color are his socks???  Thats the question!!!!

 

Congrats man…Live and learn..

[zeus1gdsm]

Beard was almost 4.5 inches long. Didn't stick straight out. It hung down.

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Edited May 3, 2016 by zeus1gdsm

[DirtTime]

Nothing wrong with your bird zeus. Don't let anyone's BS get in your head.

 

Did you breast it, pluck, or skin it?

Edited May 4, 2016 by ....rob

[zeus1gdsm]

Took the legs/thighs and breasts. Made a slit. Pulled back the skin.

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[DirtTime]

Nice. Just remember when cooking it, it's a bit leaner so it can dry out faster then a Butterball. At least in my experience.

[Marion]

If you plan on eating the legs i suggest you put a brick in a large stockpot, put in some chicken stock, put in the legs, cook to doneness, throw out everything in the pot, and proceed to eat the brick

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[landtracdeerhunter]

Regarding the missing feathers, you are probably describing the brood patch. It let's the hen get bare skin on her eggs to incubate them.

 

 Turkey will pull their breast feathers to line their nest, as they are softer.