The photo below shows the typical spur characteristics of some different aged gobblers.
Jakes (1 yr olds) have spurs which are usually 1/2″ or less and are generally very rounded. During the spring season, jakes will range from having no more than a bump for a spur to a better defined 1/2″ long spur like the one shown in the photo.
The 2-yr old gobbler has longer spurs (1/2″ to 1″) which are generally still straight and still very blunt on the ends.
3-yr. olds and older birds have the longest, sharpest spurs and they will also have some curve to them.
Again, spurs tend to get longer and sharper as the gobbler ages but there have been proven cases of some very old birds which were tagged and harvested 7 to 8 years later that still had spurs of only 1 inch in length.
There are a variety of differing opinions on spur length in relation to a gobbler’s age so I’ll present several theories here along with some research stats.
One very interesting study, “Indexes for Aging Eastern Turkeys” by R. Kelly (1975) focused entirely on aging gobblers in Missouri. This paper shows how spur length, beard length and body weight are associated with known age Eastern gobblers.
To begin the study, a group of 50 known age gobblers were trapped as sub-adults, and fourteen “minimum known-age” gobblers were trapped as adults. The gobblers were banded and released in various locations and then were harvested in 20 different Missouri counties from 1962 to 1974. Twenty-five sub-adult birds were randomly selected from the 1973 harvest data in two counties.
Data from the harvested birds was collected and compiled, giving the following table.
** – This group of gobblers had a minimum known-age of 5 years.
Length of Spurs and Beards and Body Weights of Gobblers in Known Age Classes Source – R. Kelly – “Indexes for Aging Eastern Turkeys” (1975) Third National Wild Turkey Symposium, p. 207
Straight Rounded Straight Blunt Slight Curve Pointed Curved Sharp
Estimating Gobbler Age by Spur Characteristics Source – Williams – “After the Hunt ” (1996)
Note: These measurements are based on Florida (Osceola) birds which generally have longer spurs than Easterns, Rios etc.
Source – Keck – “Talk’n Turkey” Turkey Call Magazine May/June 2001 p. 104
