VP

I went out to the lease today to help a buddy pick up ladder stand from deer season, we decided that it was closer to drag the thing back toward the hwy because it was closer then the road we came in on, when we got a couple of hundred yds from the hwy we found a BIG Tom laying there dead- the only thing I can figure was he may have been hit by a car although he wasnt messed up to bad and rigamortis had set in pretty good so it was hard to tell- I'm just guessing on the cause of death- Anyway, what had me baffled was this bird had to have been about 21 to 22 lbs and had a PURE ROPE hangin off his chest- I cut it off and measured it at home and it was 11 "- Here's the funny thing- His spurs were flat, I mean not even an 1/8 of an inch and looked like they had been put on a grinder, no point at all- He had a big thick neck and fully developed head so I know it had to be an old bird,, Just cant figure out the spur thing-
Anybody else ever seen an old bird with NO spurs?

HomerJ

Without the spurs it's hard to say. A few years back I tagged a bird with a beard of over 11 inches. One nub for a spur and the other leg never grew one. It weighed a whole 16 pounds! Long beards don't mean old age. Plus you could have a old bird that wore, or broke off spurs in rocky areas of the U.S.
Genetics, I think, would play a role too.

Bobgobble2

Vance pretty common around these parts!I believe Homer is right about genetics.Two flocks of birds I hunt are notorious for only having 1 spur or not even any!We also hunt a flock that is common to have 3 or 4 bearded hens in it every year of which I believe is do to genetics also!