Bearded Hen Turkeys: Exploring the Fascinating Trait

While most people associate beards with male turkeys, some hens also sprout these bristly feathers If you’ve ever seen a bearded hen, you may wonder – what causes this trait and what does it signify? Here’s an in-depth look at the phenomenon of bearded lady turkeys

What is a Bearded Hen?

A bearded hen is a female turkey that grows a beard. Unlike males in which beards are very common only around 10% of hens develop them. The beard consists of long, hair-like feathers protruding from the chest.

Hen beards tend to be thinner and shorter than tom beards, ranging from 6-8 inches usually. Some hens may grow multiple thinner beards rather than one long thick beard. But any extended chest bristles on a female turkey qualify her as a bearded hen.

Why Do Some Hens Grow Beards?

The reason some, but not all, female turkeys grow beards remains unknown. Beard development begins around 5 months of age and seems to involve a genetic component.

One theory suggests past turkey relocation efforts for conservation contributed more bearded hen genes into certain populations. Scientists speculate the founding birds contained more beard genes, passing those down generation after generation.

While the evolutionary purpose of hen beards is unclear, they don’t impact breeding ability. Bearded hens mate, nest, lay eggs and raise young like any other female.

Identifying Bearded Hens

Since most turkey hunters are only permitted to harvest adult gobblers, properly identifying bearded hens is crucial. Look for these giveaways:

Wispy 6-8 inch beard protruding from chest
No leg spurs or male plumage
Overall smaller size than males
No red, white and blue head colors

Bearded hens also lack the male behaviors of strutting, gobbling, and defending territories. Observing turkey behavior provides more clues to confirm hen identity.

Why Conservation Matters

While legal to shoot during spring turkey season in many states, avoiding bearded hens helps conserve turkey numbers.

Hens comprise the reproductive segment of the population. Each bearded hen lost represents dozens of future turkey offspring never hatched. With turkey populations in decline, every female matters.

Ethical hunters pass up bearded hens when encountered. Taking only mature gobblers helps sustain wild turkey numbers for years to come.

Fascinating Bearded Hen Facts

Beyond basics of what a bearded hen is and why they occur, these unique turkeys have other fascinating aspects:

Bearded hens have bred for centuries, with records dating back over 2,000 years.
Frequency varies regionally from around 5% to over 15% of hens.
Having a beard doesn’t influence nesting, brooding or mothering behavior.
Multiple thinner beards rather than one full beard is more common in hens.
Less than 1% of juvenile hen poults develop tiny thin beards.
Only adult gobblers regularly grow beards exceeding 10 inches long.

Celebrating Diversity in the Wild Turkey Kingdom

While most females lack beards, the minority of hen turkeys that do grow them add diversity to the wild turkey population. They serve as a reminder that nature always contains wonderful variations.

Next time you observe a bearded lady in the wild, take a moment to appreciate her special status. Then let her wander on her way, paving the future for new generations of turkeys.

The bearded hen’s existence shows how natural selection keeps surprising us. These unique turkeys have persisted for millennia, proving beard-growing abilities remain in the hen turkey genetic code. Their rarity makes any sighting of a bearded hen a special treat for bird watchers and hunters alike.

what is a bearded hen turkey

Turkey Basics-Gobblers and Hens

Let’s begin with the basics of distinguishing male wild turkeys (gobblers) from females (hens).

Gobblers are larger-bodied birds, with a darker coloration, at times appearing almost black. In bright sunlight, their feathers cast a brilliant bronze or metallic iridescence. Gobblers have a featherless, red head (sometimes with blue and white coloring, too) with prominent wattle and fleshy, red growths (called caruncles) on their neck. They also have a “beard”—a tuft of black, hair-like strands—protruding from their chest.

On adult gobblers (called toms), the beard can be 7-9 inches or more in length, but on young gobblers (called jakes) the beard is <6 inches long. Typically, gobblers hang out away from hens during the summer since they take no part in raising young.

Hens are more brown in coloration and smaller in size than gobblers. They have a head that is more blue-gray in appearance, often with feathers continuing up the back of the head.

Occasionally hens will have a beard, but it is thinner than on gobblers and is quite often kinked. Hens can also have some feather iridescence, but not to the same extent as gobblers.

How many gobblers and hens do you see in this picture?

2 gobblers (both jakes, note the larger size, less-feathered red heads, and tiny stubble of a beard protruding from the chest of the jake on the right), 4 hens (one mostly hidden behind a jake, but you still can clearly see the typical head of a hen turkey poking out), 1 unknown. If we were here in person live, the birds would move about and we could probably determine that the unknown is another jake, but given what we can see in this photo, it’s best to just call this partially obstructed bird an unknown.

Poults develop very quickly (they must in order not to be eaten!) and feather types, appearance, and body size change rapidly as they age. Based on these characteristics, we can estimate the age of poults. For simplicity, we divide poults into three age classes.

1 week old or younger. Poults that are no more than about a week old are still covered with downy feathers and are very small (<5-6 inches tall). They look like little puff balls about the size of your fist.

Turkey Poult Class 1

2-5 weeks old. Poults in this class have grown longer wing feathers, but still are mostly covered with downy feathers on their body and still lack long tail feathers. They are about 6-10 inches tall, similar in size to a Blue Jay. In appearance, they look to be all wings (which is good because it means now they can fly into low trees to escape ground predators). Poults on the older end of this age class will have started to grow some juvenile plumage on their bodies, but still have short tail feathers.

Hen with class 2 age group poults

Hen with older class 2 age-group poult (borderline class 3)

Hen with class 2 age group poults

6-8 weeks or older. Poults early in this stage still have some down feathers occurring on the neck and head, but their body is covered with juvenile type contour feathers. They have visible tail feathers now, black-and-white barred wing feathers are emerging, and they stand about 10-12 inches tall, similar in size to a crow or a chicken. By about 8 weeks of age, poults are beginning to grow new “adult” looking body feathers and will have a mixture of juvenile feathers and adult feathers on their body. They are about half the size of the hen and will continue to grow to almost the same size as the hen by the end of the summer. Turkey Poults

Because they are very similar in size, late in the summer it can be very challenging to determine if a group of similar-sized turkeys is a flock of hens without poults or a hen and her older-age-class brood. If you’re unsure, it’s best to mark them as unknowns.

BEARDED HEN DEBATE! | Turkey Tour Wrap Up

FAQ

What causes a bearded hen turkey?

Sometimes hens will sport a beard. Scientists have estimated that approximately 10% of hens will have beards. They are almost always very thin and rarely get over 8 inches. No one knows why this is, but a theory on their abundance is due to trapping and relocating birds.

How rare is a bearded hen turkey?

While all toms—adult male turkeys—have beards, nearly 10 percent of hens also have one, albeit a much stubbier, wispier version. Why only some females have beards is not known, but male beards are believed to be yet another tool for mate selection.

Do bearded turkey hens lay eggs?

Regardless, bearded hens still lay eggs and raise broods like any other hen. Harvesting one is a personal call based on the strength of a resident turkey population and your appreciation for novelty.

How to tell if a turkey is a bearded hen?

Hens. Hens are more brown in coloration and smaller in size than gobblers. They have a head that is more blue-gray in appearance, often with feathers continuing up the back of the head. Occasionally hens will have a beard, but it is thinner than on gobblers and is quite often kinked.

What does a wild turkey hen look like?

Adult wild turkey hens are visibly smaller than adult toms. Their feathers are a lighter color, brown or bronze in appearance. They have no spurs and seldom have beards, although there are rare exceptions. In females that do have spurs or beards, these will usually be smaller than what male turkeys have.

Do bearded hens have a beard?

It is possible that at one time there were fewer bearded hens, but when one got trapped with the genetics, its offspring carried the beard gene and it has been passed on. Turkeys Don’t Shave! After it is a full year old, a jake could have about a 5-inch beard. After another year, it becomes a 2-year-old tom with a beard of 9 inches or more.

Why are bearded hens important?

Regardless, the take home is that bearded hens are just like any other hens – they contribute to the productivity that sustains and drives our wild turkey populations. Pic © Tes Randle Jolly

Are bearded hens legal in Georgia?

Either way, bearded hens are not legal game in the state of Georgia. In some areas they are; Florida, for example, defines legal game during spring turkey season as “bearded turkey or gobbler.” Not so in GA, which specifies “gobblers.” Come turkey season, I hunted long and hard for a mature gobbler, beginning on opening morning.