Multiple Beard Toms
 

I was wondering for those of you that have bird hunted a lot, just how rare are toms with more than one beard? I have harvested about 10 birds previously, all with just one beard until this year. This year I hunted public land in Wisconsin for the first time, and both my birds, from different properties, had multiple beards. The first one had 4 and the second 2. The one with 4 is in first place in the HN turkey contest.

Just curious what percentage of toms have more than one. Thanks.

Of all my birds, i have yet to get a multi-bearded tom. But i tell ya, thats the first thing i look for when i walk up to him lol.

I had no clue for my 1st tom. However, on Sunday I had 3 coming in together to my decoy. I had lots of time to glass all 3 to pick the one I wanted. One had a thin 6" beard. I actually saw one had 2 beards before I shot.

I am inclined to think it is hereditary...I've killed 3 in the past 6-7 years that were multiple...Two with two and one with three...

i shot a double bearded jake once...

i missed a bird once that was a double beard. i know that because 2 days later my buddy and i went back and doubled on the one i missed and his buddy.

my opinion on multibeards is simple. there are pockets of birds every where that have a bunch of multi bearded birds. but multi beards can show up anywhere at any time. kind of like bearded hens or non typical bicks. some places have more than others but they show up from time to time all over.

We kill several multi bearded birds on our farms. Generally 1 out of 4 birds we kill will be multi bearded. Our DNR guys say that multi bearded birds come from bearded hens. We do have alot of bearded hens so it makes sense but I don't really know. I had trail cam pics of 2 multi bearded birds this year.

That is interesting. There was actually a bearded hen within 200 yards of my tom when I shot him! I'd seen it there the day prior as well.

I guess if it's hereditary then it is a recessive gene with both the male and female having it to pass to their offspring.

I never thought much about this until now. But I took 2 birds this year and both had multiple beards. They were taken at two different public lands.

Haha I hunted like 6 different properties over 3 weeks in WI. My 2 birds came in the first hour and last hour of my season.

I suspect it may be a genetic thing that could be more prevalent in an area because if some of you guys have them as common as you do that is unique. They are not common. Between myself and other hunters I have seen quite a few birds killed and can only think of my 1 and another one over the years.

As for coming from bearded hens I would question that unless you showed me some biology on that. I suspect that is just pure anecdotal observations (in other words the DNR guy has no clue and is blowing smoke).

and who's that :s5:

lol. ya and i got it on film too!.....uuuuuh....never mind!

I got curious as I have always heard that if you find a bearded hen - yo have a chance at a multiple bearded tom. but I could not find any supporting data on my search.

I do know that some beards appear as a double or multiple but they are not. Each beard needs its own 'node' or point of attachment to the skin of the turkies body. Some beards just split but still have the same node.

I have taken 4 double beards on my hunting career from a few different states. I have one double on the wall next to my bearded hen.

Did find this
http://www.lsonews.com/hunting-news/...eards-on-birds

Much unknown about multiple beards on birds
Monday, 24 May 2010 06:44 Thomas Phillips, LSONews.com


By Thomas Phillips/LSONews.com
A turkey with multiple beards is a rare thing, and it’s also a mystery.

Turkeys with multiple=

“This, I guarantee, is a totally random occurrence,” said Bret Collier, a research ecologist at Texas A&M University. “There is no rhyme or reason or logic or environmental factor or what you feed them or where they’re born. It just happens.”
Beards are many things to many hunters, but to turkeys, they’re probably just fancy feathers. They grow continuously — and wear down continuously — so they cannot be used to determine age or dominance.
The rarity also has not been studied much, Collier said. It does not appear to effect individual survival or reproductive success.
“It’s an ornament,” he said.
A study from 1995 indicates beard length had no impact on female mate choice, Collier said. Mate choice is probably more a matter of attitude and body size. In other words, a turkey with a short beard can still get girls.
“Or it could be that you have this huge beard, and you’re a wuss,” Collier said.
A beard might help attract hens, said Scotty Parsons, a biologist with the National Wild Turkey Federation. But that is speculation, Parsons said, and no data support it.
Gobblers and hens both have the skin spot on their breast, called a papilla, for growing a beard but few females have beards — another enigma.
Little information is available on how often turkeys have multiple beards, Collier said. Researchers do not investigate multiple beards much, he said, because they appear to play little role, if any, in the species’ population dynamics.
“They (gobblers and hens) both have the area where it would grow off of, but it could be that there’s some sort of a factor that causes the growth to occur in males instead of females,” Collier said. “But it’s never been studied because it doesn’t really matter. Females with beards can still breed, and males without beards can still be successful.”
It really matters to hunters, though.
A turkey with an exceptionally long beard is a trophy. Harvesting one with multiple beards is a story to tell for years to come.
“It’s highly prized because it’s unusual,” said Robert Linder, the president of the Texas State Chapter of NWTF. “Unusual is always highly prized, which is why multiple beards is always talked about.”
In his years of hunting turkeys, Linder has only taken one multiple-bearded bird. It had two beards, one 9.5 inches, the other 6 inches, and he shot it near San Angelo.
“The more beards, the more exciting,” Linder said. “It makes for a great campfire tale.”
Multiple beards often are not discovered until a bird is examined after being shot, Linder said. Secondary beards are generally small and can hide tucked behind the dominant beard.
“Whether something is a trophy or not a trophy, that’s a human construct,” Collier said. “It doesn’t really matter to the bird. It’s just we think they’re cool.”

good example


taken from here
http://www.toledoblade.com/StevePoll...the-least.html