Hen with a red head?
 

Here's a stupid question, guys. Can a hen, particularly a fired up boss hen, have a red head? The quick jist of this question stems from a bird a buddy and I called in on Saturday. We made a call at the top of a ridge and immediately we heard yelping in the bottom below us. We sat down and called back and the bird began cutting wildly and quickly climbed the hill and close the 100-plus yards between us in less than 2 minutes, cutting with every step. Eventually, my buddy saw the bird at 15-20 yards but because of the hill couldn't see if it had a beard, but he could see clearly it had a bright red head.
Not being able to see the beard, he had to hold his shot. The bird soon turned and flew back down the hill away from us, still cutting as it flew. Everything this bird did suggest to me it was a hen, probably a boss hen, but the red head is what is throwing me. I've never seen a hen with a red head. When it flew, we could see the bird had a full fan and was a big bird. I don't know. If anyone could tell us if they've ever seen a hen with a red head, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

Slice

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

On May 1st I had a bird 35 yards in front of me. It had a bright red head but no beard. It never made a sound or strutted so I didn't shoot. I was asking my self the same thing if a hen can have a red head.

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

Hens can definately have red in their head. I have seen them several times. I actually saw 3 hens with beards this year too. My guess would be that it was a hen but I didn't see it so I could be wrong.

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

I think you answered your own question right there...

1) Full fan

2) Big bird

3) Red head

I've seen hens strut, fight, spit and mated...and not once have I personally seen a hen with a red head. Sure, I've seen it change to this pinky-grey, where the blood rushes in, but never deep red like a gobbler. Seen plenty of hens with beards, but not an elongated snood or red head. My guess would be that there were probably 2 gobblers with one hen at the bottom of the draw, and the beta male snuck up on your location for a quickie...clucking/cutting the whole way. Excited gobblers, IMHO, actually cluck more often than they gobble.

As an FYI: gobblers/jakes can make every vocalization that a hen can, but a hen cannot gobble. It is quite unusual for a mature tom to yelp, but more times than not a wise/old tom will sound more like a hen---purrs & clucks---than an actual gobbler...

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

i agree....never saw a hen with a gobbler RED head....kinda gray pinkish....but never RED RED................my buddy rolled a nice bird in the fall.....nice hooks....i was like lets see that longbeard.....lookin lookin.....wheres the beard??? didnt have one....had a feather growning wierd......and a beard is a deformed feather......that birds beard just never fully deformed to make a beard i guess?? i would been mighty jacked if i shot him in the spring......that could been breaking our law...because it reads "bearded birds only"......well if a bird comes in gobbling...strutting.....and is a male turkey...........................

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

I've never seen a hen with a red head either! But I have seen a few gobblers without beards! The largest (body wise) bird that I ever called in to the gun was completely beardless! What a heartbreaker!

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

i have seen one......she was given to a friend of mine, she was an eastern, she would fluff up her feathers like she was strutting, tail up and everything, but most importantly, her head turned RED........now i admit, i havent seen any turn red as hers, but i have seen them get pretty reddish, but you can tell thy're hens and not a gobbler, gobblers have the waddles, when in douby, look at the neck.......dont shoot unless you see beard.........simple as that, then you can never screw up and shoot a hen on accident.....

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

Don't forget to look at feather color. A jake/gobbler will be darker.

Hal

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

man...

the smae thing happened to me the first day of season this year in Ohio. I was calling and all of a sudden I hear clucking & cutting like crazy...non-stop. A few mintues later it is very close, I slowly look over my shoulder and all I could see at first was a red head looking around, I waited to see beard but there was none. Bird got within 25 yards of me and NO beard. Only being my second year of turkey hunting, I didn't want to shoot and it be a hen, so I passed.

I told my buddy about it and he said that he had never seen a hen with a red head. I ended up getting a jake the next day, but wondered all along if it was a gobbler I had seen the day before or not!

RE: Hen with a red head?
 

I have seen a number of Merriam hens with bright red heads. An hens (Toms also) will fan their tails especially when they run with a strong wind behind them, they seem to use it as a rudder. Most Eastern hens that I have seen have the light blue and white heads, but I have seen an Eastern with a red head. I wouldn't want to shot a bird just because it has a red head.