Bearded and Strutting Hens

[Decker]

Did a little scouting the other morning and was surprised when I got home to find just how many bearded hens I had gotten photos of in less than a couple hours. The last picture is of a hen strutting along side the Toms. Make sure to look on the original size, or you might miss some.

How many do you count between the two different groups?

[Tom Reichner]

Hey, Decker, cool photos!

I'm having a hard time seeing the detail of the hen's beards.  Not sure how to view at original size.  I'm sure if I could figure out how to see the full sized files I'd see the beards on the hens - do you know how I can see the images larger than they appear here? 

I actually didn't know that hens regularly had beards.  I guess all those "young jakes" I've been seeing are actually hens?  I'll have to take a closer look at the birds I've been photographing and look for any hens with beards.  Is it a rather common occurrence, or rare?

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

click on the jpg code on bottom of picture.
It is kinda hard to see, but I count 3 in both pictures ?

[KimberRich]

I see 3 in each also.. 

I think there are quite a few with beards but from what I've seen in the woods the beards are thin and whispy and vary hard to see at 30 or 40 yards.  I would have to have one at about 20 feet to really feel comfortable with making sure of the beard before shooting one.   

I think I would set up my "blind" under the trampoline! 

[wackmaster]

I see 4 2 in each pic 

[Decker]

I think there are quite a few with beards but from what I've seen in the woods the beards are thin and whispy and vary hard to see at 30 or 40 yards.  I would have to have one at about 20 feet to really feel comfortable with making sure of the beard before shooting one.   

I agree with you about not being able to see them while hunting. I carry quality optics with me on all hunts and have found they can be invaluable even for turkey hunting which most people consider a "close range" hunt.

Tom, when you click and open the file, you (should) be able to zoom in on the hens with whatever viewer you're using. I for sure count 3 in the "trampoline" picture, and 2.5 in the hillside picture. (One I'm not positive about.)

[Tom Reichner]

This thread is great!  I wasn't aware that hens could have beards until I read it here.  So when I was out photographing wild turkeys a few days ago I looked closely at the hens, and sure enough, 3 of them had beards!  Here is a pic that shows a bearded hen close up:

[boneaddict]

Nice post guys.   I understand they often have multiple beard, usually sparse and short, but morelikely to have multiples.  I wonder if its a hormonal thing like women growing "beards".   I had a pheasant that started growing male feathers as well.

[tlbradford]

In the Cheney area the ratio is pretty high.  I would guess around 1 in 10 have beards.  They are a lot more rare in other parts of the country.