During the breeding season just the males in my yard display the tail feathers - the females hang around as usual, although sometimes the feathers on their backs look a bit ruffled. A few years ago two hens showed up with about a dozen babies and the two of them started an elaborate display. I think they saw I was watching them; I don't know if it was a warning or just showing off the babies. I haven't seen this again. Female turkeys with display Claire

rhizo_1- Makes sense to post in the wildlife forum... sorry about the categorization! I was so infuriated at the time I posted this that I had a hard time getting past using only very nasty words to describe the feathered terrorists; "pest" was the very nicest of them. I contacted my local Fish and Game office and left a message. Hopefully something can be done about the darn birds. Kimmsr- I never knew that! Thanks for the info. I guess I never thought of it, as birds (particularly my chickens) have their favorite foods, but you learn something every day. I guess the garlic slop I made yesterday and spread around won't do much. At least it's a conversation starter, as the smell of garlic is wafting around all the flower beds. The creepy garden tactics will have to wait for the deer to come down from the hills in a few months =) Thanks for the help!

Hey min, perhaps your dog would like to watch the turkey from OUTSIDE the window!!! Jan

This is definitely a hen. You can tell by the head. Males would be much brighter red and blue. The beard in the front of the chest will be on males. The length of it depends on age. Females are much more brown and males more black. All Turkeys have that thingy on their head. You can tell the sex of a Turkey by the poop and the tracks. The females are a circular clump and the males looks like the letter J. I've always wondered if you could tell on some other species birds as well. With the tracks the females tracks are longer than wide with the middle toe the longest. The males have equal length toes and tracks are about as wide as they are long. Hope this helps Cathy