Narragansett turkeys sex?

[fowlmix]

I bought 2 3 month old Narragansett turkey poults this summer. The seller thought they were a male and female. They are now about 5-6 months old and still look very similar in size and appearance. I do see one strut and display occasionally, and have heard one gobble a couple of times. I had hoped to have a breeding pair, not sure what I have at this point and haven't found any useful info online. Any ideas? I'd also appreciate suggestions of books to read about turkeys. I love the Storreys guide to ducks, but the turkey version has a lousy review on Amazon. Thanks for your help.

[Patrick]

I bought 2 3 month old Narragansett turkey poults this summer. The seller thought they were a male and female. They are now about 5-6 months old and still look very similar in size and appearance. I do see one strut and display occasionally, and have heard one gobble a couple of times. I had hoped to have a breeding pair, not sure what I have at this point and haven't found any useful info online. Any ideas? I'd also appreciate suggestions of books to read about turkeys. I love the Storreys guide to ducks, but the turkey version has a lousy review on Amazon. Thanks for your help.

If it gobbles, it's probably a tom, but hens do sometimes display. Check the spurs closely. yOu should start to see some differences by now. The size of the snood at this age is probably your best indicator.

You're right about the Storey's guide to turkeys. It was written by trying to conform old, outdated commercial practices to backyard flock situations. It's moderatley successful, but the subtitle Breeds, Care, Health is a joke. Breeds are mentioned in three paragraphs. APA varieties in one sentence, and never again. Still, it has a lot of good information on the basics, and it's cheap enough, so it has some value.

Birds of a Feather by Carolyn Christman and Bob Hawes is an excelent account on the history of domestication and on the individual breeds.

Turkey Management by Marsden and Martin is an old commercial text, written before BB turkeys appeared on the scene, and so has a lot of information on the management of the APA breeds. A lot of the information is outdated, but it's still an excellent reference for someone interested in raising non-BB turkeys.

[fowlmix]

Thanks for the info. I checked for spurs and don't see anything coming. Both have similar snoods, most of the time upright and about a 1/2 inch long, but recently I saw both with saggy snoods that hung down onto the base of their beaks. That's certainly a weird appendage. Not sure how much of a snood a female should have, the pictures I have seen show a Tom with very long snood, hen with a perky little nub. Does the hen's snood hang down at all? I'm hoping to figure this out and try to trade turkeys before Thanksgiving!

[Patrick]

Hens do not have the ability to change the size of the snood. It's very small always. You have two males.

[fowlmix]

Thanks very much!

[jungle]

Hens do not have the ability to change the size of the snood. It's very small always. You have two males.

"Can the Snood Save Christmas?"

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703740004574514061253793806.html?m od=yhoofront

Sorry- Couldn't resist!