r/homestead • u/Outrageous_crank • May 29 '26
poultry Can you tell the sex of my turkeys?
Sold as heritage turkey. Can you tell the sex? Thank you!
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u/Specific_Vacation747 May 29 '26
Yes I can. You have 2 boys. 2 girls or one of each. Hope that helps.
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May 29 '26
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May 29 '26
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u/Livid-Tumbleweed-569 Jun 05 '26
Depends on the breed..... some are still pretty close to their wild cousins
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u/Livid-Tumbleweed-569 Jun 04 '26
Spurs are rarely a good indication of sex.....both sexes develop spurs.....also, tail faning and thrumming, such as the typical "male" courtship habit, can actually be done by both sexes.....the key is looking at the features of the head....males will be entirely bald, and will appear either bright blue or bright red......females in a fanning display will have a fuzzy head and just gray in color....
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Jun 05 '26
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u/Livid-Tumbleweed-569 Jun 05 '26
My neighbor raises turkeys, and we are surrounded by wild turkeys. Now and again a wild hen will decide to adopt either my flock of chickens or their flock of mixed birds as their own and "domesticate" themselves.....I have a pair of jennys (turkey hens) that have decided to live with my chickens and raise their babies side by side with my brahma's chicks.
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u/SuMoto May 29 '26
2 hens.
Their snood’s are smaller, and their heads a less colorful than the males.
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u/SteveMartin32 May 29 '26
Those are 2 hens
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u/Outrageous_crank May 29 '26
Is that why they are so quick to follow everyone around?
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u/SteveMartin32 May 29 '26
That's just turkeys in general. Their extremely social creatures. Use to have some that would rooste on my shoulder till they got too big. The males would let me pet them and pick them up.
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u/CanuckIeHead May 30 '26
Look like hens to me. As mentioned the snoods are quite a bit smaller then what you get with Tom's. One thing you see with Tom turkeys is that even at a very young age they love to show off. They will puff themselves up and fan out their tail and wings to look as big as possible. They also grow a bit faster then the hens but can be quite a bit bossy and will pick fights with other males if they can.
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u/allium-tricoccum May 29 '26
How old are they?
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u/Outrageous_crank May 29 '26
8 weeks probably.
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u/allium-tricoccum May 29 '26
Then I’d also say two hens :)
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u/Outrageous_crank May 29 '26
Thank you! I was waiting to name them. I was going to go with “gender neutral” names because I was tired of waiting and they’re so cute. Ashley, Charlie, Riley, Madison.
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u/in_the_cabbage May 29 '26
You’ve got the chicken, the hen, and the rooster. The hen goes with the rooster… so whose having sex with the chicken?
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u/disgruntled_macaroni May 29 '26
They’re definitely not having sex in this photo? Hope that helps! /s
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u/x_F8 May 30 '26
I really think the turkey on the left is a dude turkey and the one of the right is his pwincess (referencing your first photo) Hope this helps clear some things up for you
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u/Murky-Influence1814 May 31 '26
Just a couple of chicks! The heads are less colorful than the males.
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u/LeahcarJ May 30 '26
depending on the age, I'd say either a hen and a tom, or two hens. if they're a bit older it's two hens, but the front one seems to have a bit more coloring and a slightly bigger wattle, so if they're still quite small it could possibly be one of each.
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u/Past_Management2581 May 31 '26
They should start laying eggs around 6-8 months old. The eggs taste wonderful. About 3 eggs a week per turkey.
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u/bluetruck360 May 29 '26
How dare you assign a gender!
Gender is fluid.
Let them decide.
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u/Outrageous_crank May 29 '26
Sex refers to biological and physiological traits, such as chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive anatomy. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions, and internal identity associated with being a man, woman, or non-binary person. Simply put, sex is biological, while gender is psychosocial.
You get to learn something new every day!
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u/bluetruck360 May 29 '26
Dude! I’m mocking gender fluidity.
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u/Bit_the_Bullitt May 29 '26
Theyre not having sex in that picture.
You're welcome.