Post by Woody Williams on Apr 23, 2006 8:04:43 GMT -5
Turkey hunters should shy away from the bearded hens
By PHIL POTTER, Tri-State Outdoors
April 23, 2006
Let's talk turkey - specifically lady turkeys with too much testosterone. They're commonly called "bearded hens," and they pay a price for it.
While their less hirsute sisters are protected during the spring season. they are legal game. Most states say any turkey with a visible beard may be shot. And in low light, they can be mistaken for a gobbler.
Some hunters refuse shooting such oddities and justify taking them only if a full body mount is done by a taxidermist. Others gladly squeeze off a round because it's legal.
Those who pass on shooting bearded hens have good reasons. First, these are most often the dominant hens so they do a better job of protecting their eggs and young against predators.
Second, bearded hens often produce double and triple bearded gobblers from every clutch of eggs. Ask any hunter and these multi-bearded toms are the ones they avidly seek.
Third, bearded hens often puff up and do a great strutting imitation of a mini gobbler. When they blow their feathers out, they get any accompanying gobbler to do the same.
Bearded ladies often aren't the biggest in a group, they're just the most aggressive. So much so that they frequently race to turkey hen decoys and start smacking them around.
You can't have a better decoy than a riled up bearded lady noisily clouting her sisters.
Short beards, short spurs and light body weight is the reason most "jakes" (immature gobblers) are spared from the gun. Bearded hens have their own negatives as well.
They generally have 3- to 9-inch wispy beards. They don't usually have spurs but occasionally carry one or a pair that are blunt and stubby.
Biologically, it makes sense to spare any hen in the spring. Too few successfully nesting results in creating a non sustainable population.
Even with optimum conditions, populations vary. Not all eggs hatch and not all hatchlings survive into summer. But not all breeding hens survive. Even in good nesting habitat, they get killed by farm machinery, predators, weather and heat stress as they attempt to incubate their eggs.
The sighting of a hen with three or more half-grown poults signifies a growing population. Less than three indicates a probable decrease in next year's huntable turkeys.
Fewer young gobblers translates into decreased amounts of available trophy toms.
It takes two years to produce a tom with a 7- to 9-inch beard and decent spurs. These 2 year olds are also most likely to respond to hunters calling.
So is there justification for intentionally shooting a bearded hen? Just because something is legal doesn't necessarily make it right.
www.courierpress.com/ecp/local_sports/article/0,1626,ECP_749_4643599,00.html
More Potter columns……
www.courierpress.com/ecp/columnist/0,1626,ECP_790_2786,00.html
By PHIL POTTER, Tri-State Outdoors
April 23, 2006
Let's talk turkey - specifically lady turkeys with too much testosterone. They're commonly called "bearded hens," and they pay a price for it.
While their less hirsute sisters are protected during the spring season. they are legal game. Most states say any turkey with a visible beard may be shot. And in low light, they can be mistaken for a gobbler.
Some hunters refuse shooting such oddities and justify taking them only if a full body mount is done by a taxidermist. Others gladly squeeze off a round because it's legal.
Those who pass on shooting bearded hens have good reasons. First, these are most often the dominant hens so they do a better job of protecting their eggs and young against predators.
Second, bearded hens often produce double and triple bearded gobblers from every clutch of eggs. Ask any hunter and these multi-bearded toms are the ones they avidly seek.
Third, bearded hens often puff up and do a great strutting imitation of a mini gobbler. When they blow their feathers out, they get any accompanying gobbler to do the same.
Bearded ladies often aren't the biggest in a group, they're just the most aggressive. So much so that they frequently race to turkey hen decoys and start smacking them around.
You can't have a better decoy than a riled up bearded lady noisily clouting her sisters.
Short beards, short spurs and light body weight is the reason most "jakes" (immature gobblers) are spared from the gun. Bearded hens have their own negatives as well.
They generally have 3- to 9-inch wispy beards. They don't usually have spurs but occasionally carry one or a pair that are blunt and stubby.
Biologically, it makes sense to spare any hen in the spring. Too few successfully nesting results in creating a non sustainable population.
Even with optimum conditions, populations vary. Not all eggs hatch and not all hatchlings survive into summer. But not all breeding hens survive. Even in good nesting habitat, they get killed by farm machinery, predators, weather and heat stress as they attempt to incubate their eggs.
The sighting of a hen with three or more half-grown poults signifies a growing population. Less than three indicates a probable decrease in next year's huntable turkeys.
Fewer young gobblers translates into decreased amounts of available trophy toms.
It takes two years to produce a tom with a 7- to 9-inch beard and decent spurs. These 2 year olds are also most likely to respond to hunters calling.
So is there justification for intentionally shooting a bearded hen? Just because something is legal doesn't necessarily make it right.
www.courierpress.com/ecp/local_sports/article/0,1626,ECP_749_4643599,00.html
More Potter columns……
www.courierpress.com/ecp/columnist/0,1626,ECP_790_2786,00.html
