Tom without a beard?

[rooney85]

Hey all!
I’ve had chickens forever but just got my first turkeys in August, I think they were about 8-10 weeks old but the lady didn’t tell me. We thought both were female even though one was constantly strutting (especially at my cats haha) and now we’re pretty sure he’s a he as he is strutting CONSTANTLY and definitely thinks he is the sheriff of the chickens with his lovely long snood and his great red and blue coloring (I love my turkey )
But I recently was told the absence of a beard means my Huckleberry boy is a hen I mean he gobbles but very rarely and softly. He’s super chill… but I thought the fancy face and strut was a sure thing. The other is a hen- Hollyberry. She’s never strutting, very flighty but a little larger, I do think she’s a few weeks older though. First two pictures are Huckleberry, then Hollyberry and then the two of them together in a rare moment of Huck not showboating he’s the darker red. There’s no way he’s not a he, is there?

 

[WetheringHeightsFarm]

It takes a while before the beard shows up. We have one Tom and 5 hens (we were lucky!) that we got on May 1st and his beard is now just poking thru. In fact, we didn’t know if we had two Toms or one until late August. So their gender doesn’t show for a while. The snood looks long, like it’s supposed to. So my educated guess is, yes, you have a Tom and a hen, they are just still juvenile.

 

[R2elk]

Hey all!
I’ve had chickens forever but just got my first turkeys in August, I think they were about 8-10 weeks old but the lady didn’t tell me. We thought both were female even though one was constantly strutting (especially at my cats haha) and now we’re pretty sure he’s a he as he is strutting CONSTANTLY and definitely thinks he is the sheriff of the chickens with his lovely long snood and his great red and blue coloring (I love my turkey )
But I recently was told the absence of a beard means my Huckleberry boy is a hen I mean he gobbles but very rarely and softly. He’s super chill… but I thought the fancy face and strut was a sure thing. The other is a hen- Hollyberry. She’s never strutting, very flighty but a little larger, I do think she’s a few weeks older though. First two pictures are Huckleberry, then Hollyberry and then the two of them together in a rare moment of Huck not showboating he’s the darker red. There’s no way he’s not a he, is there?

This is a tom. If you check around in the circled area by gently moving the feathers out of the way, you should be able to find the base of his beard.

It's common for turkey hens to pluck the beards from toms.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Also another note: Females strut also, it's not only males that do.

But that's definitely a Jake, the snood stretches passed the beak.

 

[Pearlescent]

He’s absolutely gorgeous!