A snood is the floppy, fleshy appendage that drapes over a turkey’s beak. Toms, jakes, and hens all have snoods. However, a tom’s is longer and more prominent than that of a hen or jake. Though it’s easy to dismiss the snood as an ancestral trait, a close examination can provide valuable insight into a tom’s emotional condition and body language.
The snood, that fleshy appendage hanging off a turkey’s beak, is more than just a funny-looking appendage. It’s a window into the turkey’s mood, health, and even dominance within the flock. So, if you’re looking to up your turkey hunting game, understanding the snood is key.
4 Things You Can Learn From a Tom’s Snood:
1. Mood Meter: The snood is like a built-in mood ring for turkeys. A long, dangling snood paired with a bright red head indicates a fired-up gobbler ready to strut his stuff and attract hens or challenge other males. Conversely a short, erect snood and a pale head signal a passive bird just going about its day.
2. Calling Strategy: Knowing the mood of the gobbler helps you tailor your calling strategy For a submissive bird, subtle calls mimicking a lone hen or a small group of hens might do the trick. For a dominant gobbler, start with soft calls and gradually increase the volume and intensity to mimic the calls of an interested hen.
3. Dominance Indicator: Studies show that snood length can be a sign of dominance and good health. Hens tend to prefer toms with longer snoods suggesting they’re fitter and more resistant to parasites. So if you’re looking to target the alpha male, keep an eye out for the longest snood in the flock.
4. Flight Forewarning: A shrinking snood is a telltale sign that the turkey is about to flee. This is your cue to take the shot if you have the opportunity, as the bird is likely feeling threatened and won’t stick around for long.
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Recall: Acquiring knowledge of the snood is only one aspect of successful turkey hunting. Be patient, observant, and adapt your tactics based on the turkey’s behavior. You’ll quickly become an expert at deciphering the snood and bagging those gobblers with a little practice!
If He’s the Dominant Tom
Studies show that snood length can have an effect on sexual selection. These studies have shown that hens show a preference to toms with longer snoods. Researchers have found that snood length is one measure of a tom’s physical fitness, particularly in terms of overall health and parasite load absence.
Other than snood length, another measure of dominance is believed to be the brightness of a tom’s head illumination. Given this, it’s well known that the dominant tom in each flock contributes a disproportionately large amount of breeding. With wild turkey populations starting to decline in many states across the U. S. the likelihood that hunting the dominant bird in the pecking order contributes to the overall decline of some turkey populations cannot be disregarded. Targeting the tom who is behaving more obediently might not be a bad idea if you’re fortunate enough to have multiple birds in your area.
How Aggressive Your Calling Should Be
A knowledgeable hunter can modify their approach depending on visual confirmation and a general sense of the gobbler’s disposition. For example, a tom with a pale head coloring and an erect snood is unlikely to attack your calling and decoy setup. This gobbler or a bachelor group of toms are more receptive to gentle calling when paired with a jake or tom decoy.
In the case of a bachelor group of dormant toms, these gobblers are likely not hyper-interested in breeding. Rather, these birds are probably more confident that their group can outnumber a lone jake decoy. Giving a few soft yelps in this situation would be a wise calling technique to alert the group to the presence of a flock of turkeys in the area.
Similarly, if a flock of hens is hanging around with a submissive tom, the flock’s primary concern is most likely survival. Rather than calling every time you see a turkey in your vest, it is probably preferable to listen to the flock’s current vocalizations and emotions.
But a different calling technique is elicited by a full strut, bright red head, long beard, and long snood. It’s difficult to know exactly what call will work in any given situation, but this haughty gobbler most likely wants to find a hen that will answer him.
If you give this tom the impression that there’s a hen looking to be bred, perhaps you should call this one in. I’ve discovered that a clever strategy is to initially call softly and subtly in order to determine the bird’s temperature. If they respond positively, you should likely continue with subtle calling. Try raising the volume of your calls gradually if the birds don’t seem very interested in them. The idea is to sound like a bored hen and over the course of about thirty minutes, gradually increase the volume, frequency, and intensity of your hen calls. With the right card play, you can draw the flock into your setup and successfully change their mindset.
Ask a Veterinarian: What is a Turkey Snood and Does it have a Purpose?
FAQ
Does a female turkey have a snood?
Why do turkeys have a feather on their chest?
Why do turkeys have that thing on their neck?