Why do turkeys strut




















Think of it as controlled goosebumps, only turkeybumps. Small muscles located at the base of each feather enable the bird to move its feathers.

Those muscles are connected to other very small muscles within the skin. When strutting, the turkey contracts the muscles that control feather position, causing the body feathers to stand erect. The same applies for a group of muscles located at the base of the tail and muscles in the wings. The head, neck, snood and caruncles are naked skin.

Wild turkey gobblers have the capacity to contract and relax small blood vessels in the head and neck skin causing color changes. A gobbler in full strut will lower its head and neck so the head is tucked into the erect back feathers.

The lengthening and contraction of the snood is also controlled by muscles and blood vessels. Honestly, I think whenever they feel the urge. Obviously, I think, they really begin to strut in earnest as the amount of daylight begins to increase in late winter and early spring.

Their testosterone levels also increase, which leads to more macho strutting behavior, whether in reaction to potential rivals or an attempt to woo hens. I think this peaks during the pre-breeding and breeding phases, but gobblers will also strut in late spring or summer, especially for hens that have apparently lost their nests or broods.

In general, strutting is associated with spring breeding season when gobblers defend their status and show off their plumage and colors to attract hens. The display has additional implications in other circumstances such as a show of dominance among males outside of breeding season and when winter flocks reconnect and establish the pecking order. Hens may strut to convey dominance or occasionally in response to threats from predators to the brood. Certainly, they love to fan out and display in fields, pastures, food plots, logging roads, timbered flats and other relatively open areas.

That seems to make biological sense, as strutters in these areas can see other turkeys and potential predators, and other turkeys can easily see them. Also, they really seem to favor strutting on south- and east-facing slopes or benches in the morning, where they can soak up warmth and rays from the rising sun.

Basically, I think a gobbler remembers those areas in his home range where he regularly encounters hens and goes to them when the fancy strikes. That might be once a week or several times per day. Turkeys are just so random in their movements, and few of them get locked into hard-and-fast routines. Who knows? To me, gobblers are much the same with so-called strutting zones.

Turkeys almost always spit and drum when they strut but also do it when not strutting. Unlike a gobble that can carry up to a mile, the ruffling feathers and spit and drum sounds can be difficult for humans to hear beyond a hundred yards, even in the best conditions. Many hunters fail to hear or recognize these three sounds even when a bird is close.

A quick tour of YouTube videos on the subject is helpful. How do turkeys spit and drum? The author and husband have photographed and videoed the behavior extensively. Is the bird inhaling or exhaling? Others speculate the bird is inhaling air, then using the air to produce the vibrating drumming sound. Lovett has his own theories and the author agrees. When he is feeling stressed, his head will turn bright red. The color shifts and changes many times throughout the day as he feels various levels of stress and relaxation.

White feathers have no spots under the skin when plucked. Most turkey feathers are composted. Turkey feathers were used to stabilize arrows and adorn ceremonial dress, and the spurs on the legs of wild tom turkeys were used as projectiles on arrowheads. Each spring male turkeys try to befriend as many females as possible. Male turkeys , also called "Tom Turkeys " or "Gobblers" puff up their bodies and spread their tail feathers just like a peacock.

This fancy turkey trot helps the male attract females also called "hens" for mating. How can you tell the difference between a tom and a jake turkey? All tail feathers of adult males are the same length. The feathers forming the center of a Jake's tail are usually longer than the rest of the feathers in the tail. What does the color of a turkey's head mean?

Turkeys' heads change color to express their emotions. Berkeley scientists have used this adaptation to create a biosensor for germs, toxins, and TNT. Turkeys can change the color of the skin on their heads from red to blue to white, depending on whether they are calm or excited.

Why do turkeys turn white? However, a hen in full strut, fully fanned and dragging her wingtips like a gobbler is "extremely rare. Other biologists note that turkey poults will strut as soon as one day after hatching, and both sexes can strut. In hens, strutting is usually a response to aggression by another hen, or a response to other strong stimulus, including hunting decoys.

On a turkey-hunting forum, for example, a hunter reported a strutting dominance display by an old hen when a young hen tried using its dust bowl in a sunny spot on a dirt road. So, if anyone can match Obst's good fortune for twice seeing one of nature's most rare behaviors, you should feel fortunate. If Obst is set on documenting unusual turkeys, he must be hunting the right farm. He also photographed a bearded hen while hunting there, noting: "That bearded hen behaved just as a hen should, with no gobbler imitations.

I've seen three bearded hens over the years, all of them with thin, stringy brushes bobbing from their upper breast. One came out regularly in the same field, and twice offered easy shots. Although bearded hens are legal game, I never felt the urge to shoot one. What other odd things do we see turkeys doing? A few hunters on Internet forums report hens occasionally trying to gobble.

They do it to show dominance, respond to predators threatening their young ones, or react to hunting decoys. The male turkeys spread their tail feathers and it forms a fan which looks attractive even to human eyes. Turkeys strut to attract hens for mating. They also do it in front of other male turkeys to show dominance.

Turkeys like to be hugged generally but since they have different personalities, you should relate with them based on their personalities and behaviours. Alex Kountry is the founder of HayFarmGuy and has been a backyard farmer for over 10 years.

Since then he has decided to write helpful articles that will help you become a better backyard farmer and know what to do.



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