saltflat

I was at in class today and was talking to this girl about turkeys. She is a typical girl she calls antifreeze the green stuff thats in your car. Well she was tellin me how she saw some turkeys on her way to work. So we got to talkin about size and I told her an average eastern tom turkey stands between 26 and 32 inches tall. She said no way so she had to call her friend that is also a hunter. She thinks he knows everything about hunting. She also talks to her dad and both of them said I was smokin somethin. I asked her why they said that and she said that they said that turkeys don't get bigger than 22 inches and that I didn't know what I was talkin about. They said they wanted to see some of these mammoth turkeys, come on 26 to 32 inches aint that big. What do you guys think.

jepcho

22 inches?? Yeah when they arent even a year old, or possibly a hen.But nota full grown tom. I'd have to agree with you on this one!

snowdog2

From the NWTF website:

http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/history_eastern_wild_turkey.html

Eastern Wild Turkey
The eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris( is the most widely distributed, abundant and hunted subspecies of the five distinct subspecies found in the United States. It inhabits roughly the eastern half of the country.
The eastern wild turkey is found in hardwood and mixed forests from New England and southern Canada and northern Florida in the east to Texas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota in the west. It has also been successfully transplanted in states outside of its orginal range including: California, Oregon and Washington.
L.J.P. Vieillot first described and named the eastern subspecies in
1817 using the word silvestris,
meaning "forest" turkey.
The eastern wild turkey ranges the farthest north and individuals can grow to be among the largest of any of the subspecies. The adult male, called a gobbler or tom, may measure up to 4 feet tall at maturity and weigh more than 20 pounds. Its upper tail coverts, which cover the base of the long tail feathers, are tipped with chestnut brown and its tail feathers are tipped with dark buff or chocolate brown. In contrast, its breast feathers are tipped in black. Rich, metallic, and copper/bronze iridescence characterize other body feathers.
The primary wing feathers have white and black bars that extend from the outer edge of each all the way to the shaft. Secondary wing feathers have prominent white bars and are edged in white, producing a whitish triangular area on each side of the back when the wings are folded on the back.
A mature female, called a hen, may be nearly as tall but is usually lighter, weighing between eight and twelve pounds. Females are similar in color to the males but more brown, and the metallic reflections are less brilliant. Feathers of the hen's breast, flanks and sides are tipped with brown rather than the black and white tips of the male.

s. il. hntr

I'll bet them fellas turkeys look ALOT like a pheasant

Rebel Hog

48"

saltflat

Thats what I was thinkin. They are hunting the wrong birds. Maybe they have some dwarf breed of turkey. Heck it might even be their neigbors chickens.

s. il. hntr

old longbeards

hmmm....maybe thats the new pigmy sub-species..

Arrowmaster

My pet turkeys here at home are around 45" tall and weigh around 40 lbs. Thats the 2 toms I have. The hens are around 36" tall and weigh over 20 lbs. But their kept in pens. I have bigeastern turkeys. Ive got pics to prove it.

saltflat

Cool arrowmaster I want to see some pics. I think it would be cool to raise turkeys. I have also always wanted to raise deer. Just dreams I guess.