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

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.

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!!

Nice spurs! One thing for sure it's an older bird.

I definetely agree with you that she is a older bird!!

Here are her tail feathers as well!!

WOW! That is weird.

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

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

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.

Nice bird, i kinda agree with the others looks like a gobbler to me. But i have been wrong before Keep us posted on what it is.