We have a client that sent us some feathers and he wants to know if those are turkey feathers and from what type of turkey too!?...How can I do that? Please help...Thanks.
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It should be very easy to determine whether or not they are turkey feathers, but as to the TYPE of turkey .....
Unless it happens to be from an occelated turkey, or is a very clearly marked tail feather from a LARGE mature eastern gobbler, I don't know of anything other than, perhaps, DNA testing which could determine which type of wild turkey it came from. I even have doubts about the DNA testing. The various types of wild turkeys overlap quite a bit, and very happily interbreed. In addition, re-stocking programs have mixed the varieties in some areas.
Nancy M.
.....if it is from a merrium they should be almost black. What kind of turkeys are in your area? There are 4 main turkeys in the U.S. that you can hunt plus a few of one that you can't. That one is the gould. It is mainly in Mexico. The other four are Osceola(found in Florida), the Eastern, the Merrium, and the Rio Grand. I hope this helps. See if you can find a good turkey book with the different species in it. There are some books that have pics of the different turkey species feathers.
Later
Gman
1: From what location were the feathers picked up? (State,County)
2:Desrcibe the lenght, and color.
Answer these 2 simple questions and one of us can tell you if it is a turkey, and the type.