How to Use Tail Feathers on Male Turkeys to Age Them

It can be useful to use tail feathers as a way to age your turkeys, but it is not always possible to use this method. Most experts agree that using turkey tail feathers to tell the age tale is really only possible if you are comparing one year old turkeys (also known as jakes) from mature birds. Here is how you can go about telling a jake from a mature turkey. The tail feathers of a jake are fanned out. In general, the middle sets of primary tail feathers will tend to be two to four inches longer than the rest of the turkey’s tail feathers. This will create a visible bump in the middle of the tail feathers. This is one of the easiest ways to note the age of a turkey

Other Signs of Jake Tail Feathers

There are other visible signs of jake tail feathers. In general, jakes have longer tail feathers. This is mostly due to the fact that they start to molt during the late summer, and only replace the middle primary tail feathers after this. In the second year of a young gobbler, the tail feathers begin to molt and shape into the standard adult pattern. The standard pattern tends towards molting from the outside in. This creates a full, even fan on the adult gobbler. Thus, once a turkey has reached its second year, it will have a full, even fan for the rest of its life. Of course, there are occasions where a turkey will lose one or more of its tail feathers. In most cases, the turkey will grow another tail feather in its spot. Thus, it is possible to find an older turkey with an uneven feather as part of its tail.

Other Characteristics That Can Help Determine the Age Factor

What if you can’t get a good look at turkey’s tail, or you just want another way to determine your gobbler’s age? Next time, take a look at your turkey’s beard. Beards are a great way to determine the age of your gobbler. Turkey beards tend to grow at a rate of four to five inches a year. This is a very helpful fact that can help you determine your gobbler’s age, especially since a turkey’s beard never stops growing. Turkey beards begin to grow thicker and wider as a gobbler continues to age. There are certain guidelines that you can take in order to determine age by observing a turkey’s beard growth. In general, a turkey with a beard of less than five inches of growth is probably around one year old.

Guidelines for Determining Age through Beard Growth

However, some mature birds can lose most, or all of their beard, so make sure to examine other factors as well (such as tail feathers). However, here are some tips for examining the beard for age. One thing to consider is habitat. Some areas have softer ground, thus causing less beard tip wear. You may also want to consider leg length. Some birds have longer lengths, and will experience less wear on their beard. You should also keep in mind the climate you are hunting in. Northern birds tend to lose the tips of their beards when the ice builds up on them. Thus, don’t automatically assume you have a very young bird because of a short beard.

Basics of Wild Turkey Consumption

Getting to know the principles of turkey habitat management involves getting to know what the wild turkey eats. The wild turkey is classified as an omnivore with an annual diet that consists of 90 percent plant food, and 10 percent animal protein. Most wild turkey populations also consume fruit, seeds, mast, greens and other agricultural crops. These are the principal types of plants that wild turkeys consume. Acorns alone are known to make up roughly one third of the wild turkey diet. There are many soft mast producing shrubs that also make up a good percentage of their diet include the dogwood, the wild grape, black gum, hackberry, cherry and other related plant species. During winter and early spring, grasses and seeds are an important source of nutrients for many wild turkey populations. During the summer, insects make up a good deal of the summer diet for young turkey poults.

What Makes Up the Best of Turkey Habitat?

For optimal wild turkey habitat management, the population should have a mixture of open lands and forested lands. These work in combination to provide the best kind of turkey habitat. Roughly 10 to 50 percent of the land should be open land. Why is open land so important for optimal turkey habitat management? The distribution and size of open areas is important because they help to create a diversity of land and sustenance. Ideally, you will want to have a large area with smaller clearings throughout. In general, you can expect turkeys to not use the center of clearings if the area is larger than 20 acres. Many wild turkey populations prefer mature woodlands that are a combination of different tree species and open under stories that are growing with non-woody plants. Most wild turkey populations will choose areas with tall grass and dense brush. They also favor areas with fallen treetops, or areas that have recently been cleared. Many wild turkey populations use these recently cleared-out areas for nesting. These areas are known to contain an abundance of insect life and vegetation that can help sustain young poults and allow them to move freely through the area.

Using Timber Lands for Wild Turkey Management

If you are working with timberlands, these areas require a specific set of production guidelines. When working with timberlands, the focus should be on optimizing soft mast production and hard production. There should also be a focus on providing a dispersed permanent system of forest openings. In order to maintain oak regeneration, an even-aged method of harvesting is recommended for these areas. This method is also recommended in order to create a viable under story and the right kind of conditions to provide the trees with maximum diversity. When working with timberlands, long timber rotations are usually recommended in order to provide the wild turkey population with a high percentage of trees that are producing mast. To keep the land viable, it is recommended that timber operations be dispersed and not readily concentrated in one specific area. In some cases, proactive efforts should be made to plan cuts in order to increase and enhance reproduction.