What Is a Female Turkey Called?
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A female turkey is called a hen, while a male turkey is referred to as a tom or a gobbler. A baby turkey is called a poult.
Female turkeys usually weigh 8 to 10 pounds, which is smaller than the males, which weigh 16 to 24 pounds. Hens have drab feathers that are usually gray or brown. These provide camouflage while they sit on their nests. Approximately 10 to 20 percent of hens have beards, which are clusters of long, hair-like feathers that grow on the chest, but this feature is more common in the males. Fleshy growths called caruncles grow on the heads of both hens and gobblers. Both also have fleshy protuberances called snoods that overhang the bill and that can be extended and retracted. Hens usually have smaller snoods than gobblers.
