# black strange feather on a broad breasted white tom?



## eclipchic (Oct 24, 2010)

I may have to get a pic of this to explain it well enough but my largest tom turkey has something black growing out of his chest. He's a broad breasted white. When I get ahold of him, it feels and looks like old oxidized copper wire (somewhere around the size of 4 ga wire) thats frayed a bit. It looks like its growing out of his chest, much like the rest of his feathers. I don't see any reason to think he has copper wire imbedded in his chest....there isn't any lying around and he's never appeared to be injured either. 

Ever heard of this? He's the only one who has it and he is otherwise fine and healthy as far as I can tell


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## eggzackly (Apr 14, 2011)

Go to google images and type in adult tom turkey. It is a normal part of their plumage, gets longer in proceeding years. For the life of me, the name escapes me, and I have raised dozens of turkeys, lol. Beard!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Yep, that's his beard. 
Pretty cool huh?


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Usually only toms get beards, but occasionally a hen will grow one.


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## eclipchic (Oct 24, 2010)

Oh that's so weird!!! I had no idea! Now that is pretty cool...now I'm going to have to look at the others to see if they have anything like it. I hadn't seen anything but maybe I've overlooked it


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## eggzackly (Apr 14, 2011)

Midget White hens get them a lot too, but they are smaller and grow them later, usually in their second year.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Sorry, but as soon as I read the title of this thread I started laughing.....


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2011)

tinknal said:


> Sorry, but as soon as I read the title of this thread I started laughing.....


Me too, I knew what the question was going to be before I opened the thread.


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## theporkstork (Dec 31, 2005)

The beard length on a wild turkey is the measure of how good a trophy the bird is. Trophy sized beards usually measure from 9 to 12 inches. Spur length is also an indicator of how good the trophy is. Smart gobblers that elude hunters for 3 or 4 years get long spurs and beards and when one harvests such a gobbler, it is considered a "real" trophy.


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## eclipchic (Oct 24, 2010)

ladycat said:


> Me too, I knew what the question was going to be before I opened the thread.


I can imagine....I've never had turkeys before


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Don't be embarrassed. I didn't know what it was the first time I saw it either.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

eclipchic said:


> I can imagine....I've never had turkeys before


We're not picking on you, just struck the funny bone.


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2011)

tinknal said:


> We're not picking on you, just struck the funny bone.


That's true, I was not making fun of you. It just made me giggle.


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

LMAO. Not picking on you, but you have an alien bird...j/k 

You would think that if it was supposted to be a WHITE bird, it would be all white, right? Now for those funny danglers hanging under your goat's chin...tee hee!


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Sure is a bizarre-looking thing, isn't it!


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## eclipchic (Oct 24, 2010)

Yeah, I knew you guys weren't being mean about it. I told my DH that I just gave myself away as a newbee


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Hon at least you weren't panicking over the "huge bulge on my chick's neck"! LOL


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2011)

Cyngbaeld said:


> Hon at least you weren't panicking over the "huge bulge on my chick's neck"! LOL


LOL that's another one that gives away the newbies.


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## eclipchic (Oct 24, 2010)

I'm drawing a blank on the huge bulge thing? are we talking waddles?


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2011)

eclipchic said:


> I'm drawing a blank on the huge bulge thing? are we talking waddles?


No, the crop.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

All I know is that if you don't have a rooster you can't get eggs........


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2011)

tinknal said:


> All I know is that if you don't have a rooster you can't get eggs........


:hysterical:


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

Cyngbaeld said:


> Usually only toms get beards, but occasionally a hen will grow one.


Years ago we had 4 large Tom's, all with beards.
And, one day, one of them started laying eggs!:grin:


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## eclipchic (Oct 24, 2010)

tinknal said:


> All I know is that if you don't have a rooster you can't get eggs........


lol! We must have virgin mary blessed hens then. I do get asked that a lot from friends


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

Cyngbaeld said:


> Hon at least you weren't panicking over the "huge bulge on my chick's neck"! LOL


You mean like this? :happy2:


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## Denise K. (May 10, 2002)

Join the crowd at wondering "what is that" Over the years since I was a kid I have raised Chickens and Ducks. When the kids were in 4-H we bought 3 turkeys one spring, I about panicked when I found these course black feathers coming from Tom's chest..............we had been painting the barn and I thought he swallowed my small paintbrush that was missing! I thought the brush had caught when he "swallowed it" and was working its way out!:umno: Anyway some other poultry folks reassured me it was normal and not my paintbrush! Eventually the others grew theirs too. Never did find the paintbrush tho:shrug:


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## tealady1952 (Jul 30, 2011)

The coarse black hairs growing out of the Tom's chest is his "beard". Generally the older they are the longer it is. Some hens may grow one as well but this is rare.


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