HuntingNet.com Forums

HuntingNet.com Forums (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/)

- Turkey Hunting (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/turkey-hunting-5/)

- - Tom/Jake (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/turkey-hunting/199661-tom-jake.html)

What's the difference?

age

Jakes are first year birds. they arent quite a year old(born the previous summer) they are usually spotted by the tail fan. when in full strut, the middle feathers of their fans are usually longer than the rest. spurs and beards are also shorter. spurs are usually just a bump, and beards can reach MAYBE 6" or so at best..most are 3-4". some say you can pick out a jake gobble...i think some you can some you cant. alot of times they seem to have a "short" gobble. they say gobble...but not the obble obble or something like that..but not ALL the time..and ive heard longbeards that i would put money on being jake birds

Toms are long beards. pretty much everything opposite of a jake. full fan, spurs, long beard, etc..2yo+

weight is also USUALLY different. jakes are usually a good couple pounds lighter...depends on area...my area jakes go from like 12-15 or so and longbeards go 17+ usually....somewhere around there...

Good answer mauser....

Pysical characteristics with some understanding of the social order among the flock....read these...
http://www.wildturkeyzone.com/articles/aging2.htm
http://www.wildturkeyzone.com/articles/aging3.htm
http://www.wildturkeyzone.com/articles/aging4.htm

Yep, Mauser and Bobgobble nailed it right there!!

don't the beards get shorter on the older birds, ie: 6yrs. and older ? i know the one Tom had like a 10 inch beard, by the time he was 8 yrs.it was a 3-4 inch nub, his spurs got smaller as well to think of it ....is that the norm ? well, it cant be because flhuntress killed that 8 inch beard with 1.5 inch spurs...he was an older bird, dont know how old though, maybe it just the beards....do y'all know ? seems like they get uglier heads as time goes, not that a gobbler could ever be ugly, i put that there for the lack of better words, lol..

There are only a couple factors that will shorten a mature gobblers beard. One is beard rot, and the other is if it gets froven over winter and breaks off.

Go to the NWTF site and type in Tom/Jake in the search engine;)

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Arrowmaster

There are only a couple factors that will shorten a mature gobblers beard. One is beard rot, and the other is if it gets froven over winter and breaks off.

his beard didnt look like it had beard rot, there was no discoloration or anything, just kept getting shorter and shorter, then he died.....but i have never seen beard rotup close so i dont know what i'm looking for.....we dont have cold enough weather so that wouldnt of done it, lol....

Quote:

ORIGINAL: huntnma

don't the beards get shorter on the older birds, ie: 6yrs. and older ? i know the one Tom had like a 10 inch beard, by the time he was 8 yrs.it was a 3-4 inch nub, his spurs got smaller as well to think of it ....is that the norm ? well, it cant be because flhuntress killed that 8 inch beard with 1.5 inch spurs...he was an older bird, dont know how old though, maybe it just the beards....do y'all know ? seems like they get uglier heads as time goes, not that a gobbler could ever be ugly, i put that there for the lack of better words, lol..

LMAO huntnma, well for us humans, as we get older, hair changes color and falls out. We get shorter with time. Things get more brittle and may break easier or break off. Who's to say your bird in question couldn't be suffer from the old age syndrome. LOL

A Jake is a teenager!

Quote:

ORIGINAL: deerdust

Quote:

well thats what i was trying to find out, lol.....but then arrowmaster wrote"There are only a couple factors that will shorten a mature gobblers beard. One is beard rot, and the other is if it gets froven over winter and breaks off."

my point i was trying to make was maybe when you see that lil beard and a big ol body, it's not a jake, just an old bird.....but then you go and laugh at me, must go cry now, lol......