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Bearded Hen
I am listing pics of a Bearded Hen I killed yesterday morning in South Texas with a ELEVEN INCH BEARD!!!!! This hen was a fairly big hen with this huge full beard just like a gobbler, and she had unbeleivable spurs to go with her long full beard!!
I have been hunting turkey and deer in Texas for30 plus years, and never run across a bearded hen with a beard or spurs anything like this one! If anyone has seen anything like this please your comments would be welcomed! Thanks, Big Larry  |
RE: Bearded Hen
I could be wrong, but Im not so sure that it's a hen. I don't think hens grow spurs. Of course you can inspect it better than me. Nice turkey just the same.
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RE: Bearded Hen
Believe me, you are not the first to make that statment!!!!
You are right , hens do not have spurs, at least they are not supposed to!! I have had about six different people look at this bird and all say it is a hen, beats anything I have ever seen, or killed!! Pics of spurs attached!! Thanks for your reply!! |
RE: Bearded Hen
Nice spurs! One thing for sure it's an older bird.
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RE: Bearded Hen
I definetely agree with you that she is a older bird!!
Here are her tail feathers as well!!  |
RE: Bearded Hen
WOW! That is weird.
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RE: Bearded Hen
Larry , Why do you think this bird is a Hen ?
As stated the pic is a little hard to tell , but from what I see it looks like a Gobbler. The head on the bird appears to have a cap and the colour in the face is more of a gobbler along with the tail and body colour. I just wndered if you opened the birds body cavity and could tell. I'm not saying your wrong , its just hard to tell by the pic...BT |
RE: Bearded Hen
This bird was with nothing but hens. In Texas in the fall months all the hens travel together as well as do the gobblers. I was looking just to kill one hen out of the twenty five or thirty birds that came out around the feed pen when I saw this bird which in color and size appeared to be a really good bearded hen.
I could very well be wrong here and I am going to take this bird to the Texas Parks and Wildlife office this afternoon to see if they can tell me if it is a hen or a gobbler. I am a deer hunter by trade and I do a little turky calling from time to time and I am no expert by far when it comes to wild turkeys. Ihave never seen hens and gobblers traveling together in the fall, especially that many hens together with just one gobbler. Once I have confirmed the birds sex I will post the listing. Thanks for your comments Adrian. Big Larry |
RE: Bearded Hen
I have heard of hens with beards, never saw one before though. I agree with Adrian, it does have the coloring throughout the head. I will awit the sexing results.
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RE: Bearded Hen
Nice bird, i kinda agree with the others looks like a gobbler to me. But i have been wrong before:D Keep us posted on what it is.
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RE: Bearded Hen
Well....Unfortunately the local chapter of Texas Parks and Wildlife was not as nearly curious about this bird as I was!They basically told me it had to be a gobbler if it had spurs, and refuse to look at the bird.
They said it could possibly be a hen but would be rare be nothing to get that excited about. I will skin the bird today and plan a breast/ fantail mount. Thanks for all your comments on my listing!! Big Larry |
RE: Bearded Hen
Thanks for the update Larry , neverless Great Bird Bud ...BT
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RE: Bearded Hen
If you're basing your sex determination on what types of flocks are present in TX in the fall, I would hesistate to do that. It would be very easy this time of year for a bird to get separated from the flock they were running with, and just hook up with other turkeys for safety. Especially this time of year.
Here in NY we basically have 4 main types of flocks in the fall. Hens with poults, Hens without poults, mature gobblers, and second year jakes that have been run off from their mothers but have yet to join a bachelor group. With that being said, when there's snow on the ground and food is scarce, you'll see a mixed flock in the fields that have food. They may not roost together, like in the spring, but they feed together. I would believe your bird to be a gobbler from reasons listed here already, spurs, head color, and that fan is just not drab enough to be a hens. That looks like a nice full Eastern bird's fan. |
RE: Bearded Hen
Thanks for your comments Jason.
We had a professional hunting guide of many years at the ranch when I brought this bird in and he right away said it was a hen and made the statment he had never seen anything in his life such as this. I relayed my story on how I killed this bird and the fact that all the other birds where hens, as I had plenty of time to watch and pick as they where at and around the feed pen for several minutes beofore I chose this bird because of the lengthy beard. Several others in the camp with much more knowledge about wild turkeys and turkey hunting than myself all felt this was a rare bird and infactdeemed the sex a hen. The day before another hunter had a group of about 20 to 30 gobblers in and around his feed pen and killed two..these gobblers looked nothing like this bird at all!!!! The pics I listed don't do this bird justice as they make her/him look much darker than he/she really is.I have killed many hens and gobblers over my 31 years of deer hunting and I say again, I am primarally adeer hunt by trait, but this bird definetely looked upon killing it like a hen,and does notlook likeany gobbler I have ever seen or killed!! I trully appreciate all the comments and congrats on this bird!! Take care and Merry Chrismas and Happy New Year to everyone!!! Big Larry |
RE: Bearded Hen
ORIGINAL: Bigbucksnl Thanks for your comments Jason. We had a professional hunting guide of many years at the ranch when I brought this bird in and he right away said it was a hen and made the statment he had never seen anything in his life such as this. I relayed my story on how I killed this bird and the fact that all the other birds where hens, as I had plenty of time to watch and pick as they where at and around the feed pen for several minutes beofore I chose this bird because of the lengthy beard. Several others in the camp with much more knowledge about wild turkeys and turkey hunting than myself all felt this was a rare bird and infact deemed the sex a hen. The day before another hunter had a group of about 20 to 30 gobblers in and around his feed pen and killed two..these gobblers looked nothing like this bird at all!!!! The pics I listed don't do this bird justice as they make her/him look much darker than he/she really is. I have killed many hens and gobblers over my 31 years of deer hunting and I say again, I am primarally a deer hunt by trait, but this bird definetely looked upon killing it like a hen, and does not look like any gobbler I have ever seen or killed!! I trully appreciate all the comments and congrats on this bird!! Take care and Merry Chrismas and Happy New Year to everyone!!! Big Larry That's almost like the 14 point doe killled in Iowa shown in the Deer Hunting forum. What the heck is going on out there?!?! :D |
RE: Bearded Hen
Looks like a gobbler from here.
Hal |
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