Male and female turkeys are easily indentifiable from one another. A male turkey's head will be either blue or red or a combination of the two. A hen, or female turkey's head will be a dull grey or brown. Male turkeys also have beards and spurs, hens [most often] do not. Occasionally a hen will have a beard, but in most states a beared bird [regardless of gender] is legal.



A jake's fan will have a few feathers in the middle of the fan that are slightly taller than the rest. When a bird is in full strut you'll notice a difference between a jake and a tom.