Yesterday a customer brought in a turkey to be mounted. It was frozen solid in a plastic bag so I couldn't inspect it at the time. An hour or so later I was able to take the bag off. It was frozen in a wierd twist, but I noticed that there was a baseball size bald spot where I thought the beard should be. There was no evidence that there ever was a beard, furthermore the spurs were only about 3/8 of an inch long. A legal bird in Arizona is a "bearded" turkey, so I began wondering why this guy would intentionally bring me a bird with no beard and a big bald spot for a "full strut" mount. It wasn't making any sense, unless he figured I could hook him up with a beard and a patch job. Then I started thinking along the lines of a Game and Fish "sting" job targeting me, making sure I would report a violation.
I phoned the customer and told him the condition of the bird. He insisted that the bird had a 10 inch beard and had all of it's feathers when he brought it to me. I assured him that the bald spot was definitely real, and I could not find a beard. He was angry and insisted on coming to pick up the bird and take it elsewhere.
Meanwhile, I went back out to inspect the bird further as it thawed. At this point I could pry one of the wings open and get my bearings on the frozen distorted bird. When I did I discovered a 9" beard tucked up under the wing, still attached and buried under the feathers. The bald spot was just to the right of the beard rather than front and center as I thought. Now I had a turkey with a 9 inch beard, 3/8" spurs, a bald spot, and an insulted customer. I definitely owe him an explanation and an apology when he arrives, but I was wondering....how common is it for a turkey with such small spurs to have a good sized beard like that?
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uncommon at all. beard length can vary by genetics and terrain. they say beards grow 4 inches a year, but on a 4 to 7 year old bird you rarely see a 16-28 inch beard. beards also vary by subspecies. depending on the terrain birds live in they tend to get broken on rough ground. They also tend to get rubbed off on full grown birds once they pass 11 inches approximately. although certain birds can have longer beards, it generally is stopped by rubbing on the ground.
Turkeys are notorious some having some 'body part' missing. I've seen mature gobblers with no beards, mature gobblers with no spurs, or only one spur etc. The list goes on... I don't know about the bald spot though, he had a brush with something. They usually have a bald breast bone area from breeding, but not as high as the beard though..
would let him take the bird back anyway, if he is an as.h... you do not want him as a client. ESP. if he hasn't or will not give you a deposit.
In Central California you're lucky to find a bird with any spurs at all. I talked to the local president of NWTF out here and asked him what the deal was. He said the there is so much in-breeding with turkeys in the western states that most birds will not have any spurs over 1/4 inch. Basically, instead of a spur it's just a little knub. I talked to him on thursday when I saw him in my Taxidemy class. He brought in an Oceola he had shot at a local lake. This is also when I found out about the spurs. Just thought it was interesting.
I haven't heard of Oceola Turkeys in California. Was it a transplant?
Osceolas are only located in florida. You say your in central california?
Jon is right. Beards and spurs vary widely in different families of birds. Gould's turkeys are notorious for not having spurs at all, and although some have small ones, the lack of spurs is a characteristic of the subspecies.
I think easterns tend to have the biggest spurs, at least from what I've seen. (Not counting the occelated turkeys, which are in a class by themselves when it comes to spurs. ie: Wicked!)
From my own family of pet turkeys, I have learned that multiple beards are hereditary, and that the daughters of my long-bearded hen tend to be bearded themselves. I'm still waiting to see what comes from the one hen with multiple beards.
Also, bald spots aren't uncommon in spring turkeys. Their fights can be extremely violent at times.
I raised Merriams for a couple years and learned that a 2 year old bird will have the long beard but stubby spurs. The beard thickens as they mature and the spurs get long and sharp. In Hawaii lack of spurs and/or toes is, as Jon stated, because they live in rough terrain particularly sharp lava. Fighting leads to all kinds of problems including scabby heads and feather loss, although my opinion is that over zealous hunters are usually to blame for bald spots and missing wing feathers. I have hunted gobblers on the indian reservation down there-wish I could make it back!
can also be terrain dependent, I have a rio in the freezer that came from south texas and it was in a very rocky area, i've been told most of the turkeys from that area have worn down nubs like the one i have, i've already made arraingements with the customer to lengthen the nubs with apoxie sculpt for his walking pose.