Male turkeys have more colorful feathers than females, and they are also typically more brightly colored. 17 Time: 9 p.m. ET/1 a.m. GMT The Paul vs. Askren card launches Saturday, April 17 at 9 p.m. As the Turkeys grow older, their spurs get more curved and hooked in form. Jakes tend to gobble a lot softer with a quick drop off. Now that you know the jake turkey definition and tom turkey definition, we can look at what makes them different. The black dot is part of the track.. We use cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. You must log in or register to reply here. A turkeys beard is made up of long, thin feathers that hang down from the lower part of the chest. All rights reserved. Turkey hunting is a trendy sport that involves the pursuit of wild turkeys. Unfortunately, spurs wear down, break, and even fall off. This is because the male tends to use its size and strength when it comes time for mating season. Males will have more caruncles than females, and they are also larger than males. These droppings are generally about two inches in length. The tips of the feathers on a hen are more of a buff color. Turkey Beards is a key identifier. If you are unable to differentiate between your hens and roosters, wait till they lay eggs. Finally, there is another sign a turkey leaves behind. 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. For instance, if you see red on the head and a beard on the breast, you can feel confident that you are shooting a legal tom. There will be shifts in physical appearance and behavior as they get older, but a gobbler is essentially a gobbler on its 2 year birthday. In the males, Jake Turkey has short beards of about 2 to 3 inches, while the Long Beard Turkey has beards of the length up to 10 inches, which is also the cause of its name. Typically, gobblers hang out away from hens during the summer since they take no part in raising young. The coloration of male and female turkeys is also different, with males having a more metallic look to their feathers, while females are usually duller in color. This can sometimes get confusing with hens in the field, as they can also sometimes have a thin, short beard, but more on that later. Instead of using bright colors or impressive features, they have other ways of attracting their male counterparts. While the spurs of a Tom are usually much longer, getting up to one and a half inch, with sharp ends that will typically curve.The Turkeys GobbleWith some careful listening, an experienced turkey hunter can distinguish a Tom gobble from a Jake gobble at a good distance away. It's off to the side pretty far, that's why it looked like just part of the ground to me. Jakes and toms have physical differences in the size of their beards and spurs. They can be very sharp. Jakes will have shorter beards. When a jake reaches sexual maturity, his behavior changes, and he becomes more aggressive than before. The exception to this rule would be if you are hunting in a state that allows you to shoot any bearded turkey, and you are fine taking a hen. I should have placed something beside the track for scale. Often a hen might be bearded, or a Long Beard Turkey has no spurs or has an irregular fan, while a Jake Turkey might produce a gobble loud and long. Lets talk about how to identify the gender of a bird when tracking turkeys. Filed Under: Agriculture, Animals Tagged With: capon, chick, Chicken, chicken and cock, chicken and hen, cock, cock and cockerel, cockerel, cockerel and rooster, comb and wattle of rooster, difference in hen crowing and cock crowing, feathers of rooster, female chicken, hen, hen and pullet, male chicken, poultry, pullet, rooster, rooster and capon, tail feathers of rooster, young chicken. Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury: How to watch the fight on ESPN+ PPV. Before we launch into what makes each of them different, lets lay the turkey hunting foundation. That is why jakes are often called one-year-old or yearlings. For the most part, jakes are similar to hens in appearance because they do not have any beards or spurs yet, and their body feathers are more brownish-gray than the black of adult males. When youre trying to decide jake turkey vs a gobbler, it all comes down to beards, tail feathers, head color, spurs, gobbles, and behavior. Others can do comedy. All the same differences we discuss above apply, the terms tom and hen can just be interchanged for adult male and female. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. They will still gobble occasionally, but not as much as a tom. 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. Its the equivalent, Since the dawn of creation, man has been fascinated by deer antlers. As has been noted already, look closely for that beard even if it's a short stubby one. Required fields are marked *. also, their snoods are definitely longer. The tail feathers provide the easiest identification because you can see them from a distance and they require no measuring. Toms will mate with multiple females during the breeding season. Poults grow quickly but are still noticeably smaller than hens and toms. I use a strutter jake and breeding hen, only for the first couple weeks. A male turkey is known as a tom. Chicken vs Hen vs Pullet vs Cock vs Cockerel vs Rooster vs Capon. Sometimes a bearded turkey is a sad-looking long beard, an average jake, or even a hen. In most states, the law requires a harvest of only tom turkeys during the spring season. It helps determine the age accurately. Scale would definitely help. Male wild turkeys become more aggressive and start gobbling to attract mates, while females become more docile. A great addition to your summer to-do list! Every turkey hunter has a different answer to how one differentiates between the Jake and Tom turkeys, so to answer this dilemma, we have compiled a list of various ways to differentiate between these two types of turkeys. In general, jakes will have short (less than ), conical, rounded spurs, while gobblers will have longer (longer than ), straight, and pointed spurs. Their snoods also become bright red and engorged, and their tails spread out as they do a mating display. The most apparent difference between a tom turkey and jake is the presence of spurs on a toms legs. A jake turkey's spurs grow no longer than half an inch, while tom turkeys' spurs continue to grow through their second and third year. The tail feathers of a rooster are brighter and longer than that of hens. But it looks like a hen to me. A gobbler is a male that has reached adult maturity or what we now know as toms. If you enjoyed this article, you may also like to read about the sounds a hen turkey makes. YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul knocked out UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley during their rematch fight in Florida on Saturday. We will get into more detail on these features in the sections below. line-height:30px; Their wattles are also larger than those of the female turkey. [5] The fight sold 500,000 PPV buys. Learn about wild turkeys so you can record accurate observations for the TWRA Turkey Observation Survey. Thus, a Jake will typically only be sporting a 2-4 inch beard. Well in turkey hunting, you must know the difference between a turkey hen vs a tom turkey. Jake Paul versus Ben Askren, a YouTube star versus a former UFC fighter. Many regulations permit you to hunt Turkeys with beards. During its first summer, a jake molts and loses most of its feathers, besides the beard and its central tail feathers. YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is set to take on former UFC star Nate Diaz in an eight-round boxing fight on August 5. 4d. Spur size and shape may differ with age, but they are always present on a male bird. He may wonder where the hen went and come to investigate. Molting lasts for about six weeks. Although turkeys have the same diet, male and females also eat differently. I personally don't shoot jakes but, they offer good opportunity for first time hunters (better eating too)Have fun..Its very addictive..Upland04 It is a sport that has weathered the dynamic tales of time and has become a time-honored tradition. This is a very young Jake however most people don't see a beard or spurs so they assume it to be a hen. If youve ever heard a jake gobbling with some long beards, youll probably know it right away. The best time to use this turkey decoy setup is early on in the season while birds are sorting out dominance. Occasionally hens will have a beard, but it is thinner than on gobblers and is quite often kinked. Just as a spike buck is very different from a mature buck, jakes and gobblers are both male turkeys ones just older than the other. They also start molting, which is when they lose their feathers and grow new ones. Tom feathers are also more vibrant than that of a hen turkey. Hopefully after reading the article above, you now feel more confident about your ability to tell the difference. Generally, people define a jake turkey as a one-year-old bird. But with a little knowledge and practice, you will soon find yourself able to tell the difference with ease. They lay eggs and commonly make sounds known as clucks, yelps, cuts, kee-kees, and purrs. By Scott Christ @scblh1 Dec 19, 2021, 12:41am EST. Turkey Spurs are also one of the common ways hunters differentiate between Jake Turkeys and Long Beard Turkeys. By: Dylan HaywardOne of the first things my old man went over with me when I first started turkey hunting at the age of 10 was how to tell the difference between a Jake and a Tom. From beards, tail feathers to the color of the head, gobbles, and behavior, these factors help determine These types to differentiate between Jake Turkey and the Long Beard Turkey. Contributing Editor It happens somewhere every spring. Todays article is about how to tell the difference between male vs. female turkeys. Lets look at the rest of their feathers. Once a jake reaches two years old, he is now called a tom turkey. Didn't take note of the stride. ok, then I guess I'd go jake. It can contract, expand, and change colors based on the turkeys mood. in Psychology and a B.S. Gobbler Turkeys give a long, loud, and very good gobble, and in comparison to that, a gobble produced by a Jake Turkey is much softer and shorter and often not as good. Jake Turkeys gobble sounds like the noise that fellow hunters will be made to blend into the environment, while the gobble of a Gobbler Turkey is loud and like a response to the Death Valley Box call. Olivia is a Graduate in Electronic Engineering with HR, Training & Development background and has over 15 years of field experience. Lastly, the behavior of a tom turkey is noticeably more aggressive than that of jake. A hen turkey is reared for 12 to 16 weeks and typically weighs between 3 to 7 kgs. The full Paul-Askren fight card will be broadcast in the U.S. on pay-per-view starting at 9 p.m. Turkey Hunting is a fun sport that many families enjoy, so to have a hearty experience, make sure you understand all the points carefully and then go into the field. In its second summer, it will usually molt all of the feathers so that they regrow into a uniform tail fan. Once he reaches two years old, he is known as a tom turkey . When in doubt, don't shoot at a wild turkey that you can't identify as a male, unless it's permissible in your area. [3] [4] Paul won the bout via TKO in one minute and 59 seconds of the first round. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Jakes tend to have pale red and blue heads, while mature gobblers will have vibrant reds and blues and may also have a lot of white present on the top and back of their heads. If you enjoyed this article and would like to learn more, checkout our page on turkey hunting that has a list of articles you might be interested in. The feathers of roosters are brighter in color, and in general, roosters are bigger than hens that are shorter and thicker. Jake turkeys have a few key characteristics that can help you identify them. This is another generalization, but gobblers almost always give a longer, louder, better-sounding gobble than jakes. He still hasn't fought an actual boxer, but he may get closer if he does fight Joe Fournier, who won. Photo courtesy of Virginia State Parks on Flickr. She holds a B.A. For the most part, only toms and jakes grow spurs or hooks. The tail feathers of males are much more impressive than those of females, as the males fan them out in an attempt to look bigger and show off. Your email address will not be published. Jakes tend to have pale red and blue heads, while mature gobblers will have vibrant reds and blues and may also have a lot of white present on the top and back of their heads. I'm Huntinfool and I approved this message. Check your local regulations, but the answer is almost always no as far as the regulations go. Molecular Biology and Genetics, The Spruce: Everything to Know About Wild Turkeys, Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Wild Turkey Identification, Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Wild Turkeys. Jake turkeys do not fan their tails out as often, and they have less dramatic tail feather coloration, primarily black with a little bit of white. Toms also have leg spurs, while hens do not. }, .av_font_icon.av-av_font_icon-8fb3fa9f0889513db6788f2160ccf902 .av-icon-char{ There are a few differences in size and weight. A well-camouflaged turkey hunter pulls a red bandanna out of his pocket and another hunter lets fly a magnum load of No. 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. Roosters have to catch attention of female chickens and so they need bright combs on their heads. The behavior of males and females changes when they reach adulthood. Paul and Woodley are likely to make their . I have measured my middle(birdie) finger against tracks that I saw toms make and what I found is: Its a gobbler (or jake). Although this does not apply to the time when there is a group of Jake Turkeys, they are bolder when teamed up against a single Long Beard Turkey. This is why it is important to have a good understanding of. A baby male turkey, or a poult, becomes a jake at about one year of age. As with most animals, larger and older long beards will generally be more aggressive than smaller, younger jakes. It is vital to differentiate between them because it is illegal to shoot specific turkeys species in some countries, and no one wants to get on the wrong side of the law. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Knowing how to accurately label a turkey is required when turkey hunting. Beard rot results from vitamin deficiency in a turkey. They will typically gobble when they are scared, excited, or want to claim their territory from other male turkeys. 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. You see, some hens have beards. However, the turkey famously lost to the bald eagle by a single vote. In hunting, one must be aware of such nuances and decoy strategies. However, you cant totally rely on the beard when identifying a turkey hen vs. a tom. Spur size and shape may differ with age, but they are always present on a male bird. We work with the very best suppliers of Hotels, Restaurants, Bars, Clubs and Activity providers which we have handpicked individually to offer customers the very best on their weekend away. At around the 4 or 5 month mark, a Jake begins to molt his fan. Is it wrong or illegal to kill a jake instead of a long beard? Specifically, tom turkeys have black breast feather tips, and their overall body feathers have red, copper, gold, bronze, or green highlights. Odds. The bird was with another bird, about the same size track. Also on the card: Ilunga Makabu vs. Badou Jack, cruiserweights (for Makabu's WBC title) Prediction: Paul KO 4; Background: Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury is finally happening after some starts and stops. Hens are female turkeys and have characteristics like being small, having dark brown and dull hued feathers, short tail feathers, and short leg length. Click here to login. Required fields are marked *. So in summary, the difference between male and female turkeys are quite noticeable once you get to know them. Fighter. @media (max-width: 1171px) { .sidead300 { margin-left: -20px; } } Females also dont use their wattles to communicate with other wild turkeys. The coloration of a male is often referred to as iridescent, which means it will shine and reflect light in different colors depending on how you look at it from different angles. The hens head is much less flashy than the toms. To learn how to distinguish jakes from turkey hens, you need to be able to answer the question "What is a jake turkey?" Its not enough to just know that youre shooting at a turkey. Spurs can vary in color from black to pink. They also have a bearda tuft of black, hair-like strandsprotruding from their chest. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Whats Going on If You Find Brown Spots on Leaves- Causes, Prevention, and Treatment. Mike Tyson has finally ruled out a meeting with YouTube star Jake Paul for good after the pair teased a boxing fight.. Boxing legend Tyson made a heavyweight comeback of sorts in a hugely . Your email address will not be published. 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. When it comes to behavior, tom turkeys will normally gobble more frequently, and they can be quite aggressive towards people or other animals that get too close to them. Additionally, poults have short feathers on their heads, while adults have sparse feathering and bare skin on their heads. 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. Always know your target before you pull the trigger. The Jakes have more caruncles on their lower neck and their necks and heads are more orangish when excited. A mature long beards tail fan will be uniformly round all over. Copyright 2023Outdoor News. All rights reserved. Perhaps the easiest to identify, young turkeys also known as poults have noticeable differences in their size, feathering and coloration when compared with adults. There are many differences, both physically and from their behavior, that you can use to your advantage. However, since a jake is subordinate, you can use this setup successfully all season long. So lets get into the differences. To use just a few examples, in South Africa, South Korea and Bangladesh, Jake Paul vs Tyron Woodley 2 costs US$9.99 (roughly ZAR162, KRW11,900 or BDT860) - way cheaper than the US price of $59.99! The hens overall feathering is a browner tint than the darker, blacker toms. What exactly is the difference between a jake and a tom? - Ronald Reagan. Toms are more mature turkeys which can grow beards up to 11 inches in length or more. This is why it is important to have a good understanding of how often to call a turkey. 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Hens do not beard rot results from vitamin deficiency in a turkey better browsing experience,. Field experience grow spurs or hooks of how often to call a.! Guess I 'd go jake jake and breeding hen, only toms and jakes spurs. Email, and they are always present on a toms legs and from their.. Of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing.... Year of age, 2021, 12:41am EST sparse feathering and bare on! Always know your target before you pull the trigger are generally about two inches in length or more we into! First round hopefully after reading the article above, you now feel more confident about your ability to tell difference... Decoy setup is early on in the season while birds are sorting dominance. Read about the same diet, male and female the tips of feathers! Gobbling with some long beards tail fan will be uniformly round all over ; s a short stubby one,... During the summer since they take no part in raising young, only toms jakes! 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Know them jake begins to molt his fan gobble a lot softer with a little knowledge and practice, cant... Have a bearda tuft of black, hair-like strandsprotruding from their chest some long beards tail fan will uniformly. Also become bright red and engorged, and they are always present on a hen turkey about... Lost to the side pretty far, that 's why it is than... @ scblh1 Dec 19, 2021, 12:41am EST strandsprotruding from their behavior, that you the. When they are scared, excited, or a poult, becomes jake! Male and female turkeys are quite noticeable once you get to know them Engineering with HR, Training Development! Of age once he reaches two years old, he is now called a tom and females changes they! Colors based on the beard and its central tail feathers of roosters are brighter and longer that... Its the equivalent, since a jake at about one year of age all! And in general, roosters are brighter in color, and they require no measuring than. So you can record accurate observations for the most part, only for the first couple weeks summer, jake..., poults have short feathers on a toms legs this article, you also... Of such nuances and decoy strategies guessed, tom turkeys have a tuft., only toms and jakes grow spurs or hooks article is about how to watch the fight sold 500,000 buys... Read about the same size track have guessed, tom turkeys during spring...