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Aging turkeys by amber in beard, pics
#2068568
03/24/17 01:24 PM
03/24/17 01:24 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148 Sylacauga, AL
poorcountrypreacher
OP
Booner
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OP
Booner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148
Sylacauga, AL
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This was discussed in an earlier thread on aging turkeys. The best way I've found to determine if a gobbler is 2 yrs old, or 3 or older is by looking at the end of the beard. A 2 yr will have a lot of amber tips in the beard, while an older gobbler will be black in the ends. Here are a couple of pics: The first one weighed 19-12 and had 15/16 spurs. He certainly could have been 2 by those stats, but the black ends say he is at least 3. The second one weighed 21-6 and had 5/8 spurs. His spurs left little doubt he was just 2, but the amber is very obvious. This is a good example of how weight tells you nothing about his age. I hope this is of help to some as you age your gobbler. My hat is off to those who can spot those PBTs before shooting them. I gotta kill him to figure out his age.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
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Re: Aging turkeys by amber in beard, pics
[Re: turkey_killer]
#2068838
03/24/17 05:07 PM
03/24/17 05:07 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148 Sylacauga, AL
poorcountrypreacher
OP
Booner
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OP
Booner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148
Sylacauga, AL
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I've been turkey hunting a long time and I've never heard of this. What causes the amber and what makes it change to black on older birds? Or does it just wear off? I've heard the answer to that, but I have forgotten. A Jake will have the amber too. Maybe AU Coonhunter will chime in. I talked with a guy from MO and he told me it didn't work with their turkeys due to beards freezing in cold weather. I've never examined an AL turkey where it didn't seem to work.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
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Re: Aging turkeys by amber in beard, pics
[Re: poorcountrypreacher]
#2069454
03/25/17 01:25 PM
03/25/17 01:25 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,231 Central Alabama
Yelp softly
10 point
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10 point
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,231
Central Alabama
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Good post PCP. I've heard that the amber tips simply break off as the beard continues to grow and get longer. I can believe the bit about it not working in northern climates. The first Merriam I shot in South Dakota had a beard about the length of a jake beard of an Alabama bird. The morning after I shot that bird in the Black Hills, we got about 6 inches of snow. I imagine lots of northern birds have short beards due to dragging them through the snow.
"When there was no fowl, we ate crawdad, when there was no crawdad, we ate sand."
"YOU ATE SAND!" - Raising Arizona
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Re: Aging turkeys by amber in beard, pics
[Re: bullet355]
#2082357
04/07/17 01:30 PM
04/07/17 01:30 PM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 3,726 Harvest, AL
AU coonhunter
10 point
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10 point
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 3,726
Harvest, AL
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I would like to hear your thoughts on the bird I killed this morning. He has the amber tips like shown in the early pic but about half way up ( or down depending on how you look at it ) his beard the is a amber band about a half inch wide. So what does that tell you about his age? He had a 10 1/8" in beard and weighed 21.5#. The amber stripe in the middle is "beard rot". It is a melanin deficiency that causes that section to not have melanin. It is more brittle and usually breaks off, leaving the small stub of a beard. You occasionally see them like you described that did not break off.
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Re: Aging turkeys by amber in beard, pics
[Re: poorcountrypreacher]
#2082390
04/07/17 02:13 PM
04/07/17 02:13 PM
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 3,101 Bagley Al.
Jmxinc
10 point
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10 point
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 3,101
Bagley Al.
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Pcp I'm with you got to kill em to figure there age! cool info
Every day's a gift !
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Re: Aging turkeys by amber in beard, pics
[Re: bullet355]
#2082591
04/07/17 05:23 PM
04/07/17 05:23 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148 Sylacauga, AL
poorcountrypreacher
OP
Booner
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OP
Booner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148
Sylacauga, AL
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I would like to hear your thoughts on the bird I killed this morning. He has the amber tips like shown in the early pic but about half way up ( or down depending on how you look at it ) his beard the is a amber band about a half inch wide. So what does that tell you about his age? He had a 10 1/8" in beard and weighed 21.5#. I've killed several with beard rot, but I've only killed one like you just described. That's a rare bird; be proud of him. Here is a pic I just made of mine; tag says I killed him in 2003.
Last edited by poorcountrypreacher; 04/07/17 05:28 PM.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
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Re: Aging turkeys by amber in beard, pics
[Re: bullet355]
#2082765
04/08/17 03:02 AM
04/08/17 03:02 AM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148 Sylacauga, AL
poorcountrypreacher
OP
Booner
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OP
Booner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148
Sylacauga, AL
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Mine was not as defined as the one you killed. He had 1 3/8" spurs. I think you can rule out him being a 2 yr old if he had spurs like that. It's interesting that he was an older turkey and the beard never did break at the stripe. The turkeys I've killed with beard rot were all 2 yr olds, but I've seen some posted here that were older. I've wondered if the beard will ever grow again if the beard breaks off from beard rot. Maybe AU Coonhunter will check back in. Looks like our other biologists have deserted us.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
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