Turkey, part of one of the biggest family dinner traditions in the United States, is a bird native to North America. But not everybody knows much more than how to carve and eat the turkey, let alone how or where to hunt it. To help those that aren’t aware about the facts, here is a gathering of information that might help anyone get up to speed on wild turkey facts.

Fully-grown wild turkeys have a small head, which is of red color and bears no feathers whatsoever. Long reddish-orange to grayish-blue legs, a dark brown to black colored, feathered body are common to most turkeys. Male birds additionally have a red throat. Most turkeys have caruncles on their heads and fleshy flaps close to the bill that expands when the turkey is excited. This happens due to blood flowing into the flap and expanding.

A turkey’s foot has four toes and in male birds, there is usually a spur found on the lower leg of the bird. Fully-grown wild turkeys are often called a tom or longbeard. Generally, turkeys have a dark colored, long and fan shaped tail. The color of the overall feather dress is of dark color. As with so many other birds in the wild, turkeys display big differences in their overall shape and color when it comes to sex. The male turkey is generally much bigger than the female turkey and his feathers also display great iridescence in such beautiful colors as copper, red, bronze, purple and green. Female feathers are overall more dull and in the range from brown to gray. Most male turkeys have white coloration on their wings, lower back or tail tips.

Turkeys have somewhere around 5,500 feathers on their body. The tail feathers of a fully-grown turkey have all the same length, while the ones of young turkeys have different lengths. One of the reasons a male turkey is also called longbeard are feathers that come out of the chest of the turkey and somewhat resemble a beard. These beards are generally 9 inches long and sometimes even female turkeys have a beard, depending on their subspecies. Female beards are thinner and shorter than the ones of their male companions. Young male turkeys are also called jakes.

On average, a fully-grown male turkey weighs about 8.2 kg, which is the same as 18 lb, while a fully grown female turkey weighs around 3.2 kg or 8 lb. So far, the biggest recorded turkey as per the National Wildlife Turkey Federation weighed in at 38 lb. Even though they are not seen to cover vast spans of land flying, the average wingspan of a turkey is about 4.8 ft. Turkeys can reach in flight 50 miles per hour and even though most domestic turkeys might never really be seen flying, turkeys are fairly good fliers. Generally, turkeys fly close to the ground and fly never for much more than a quarter mile.

A turkey is often also called gobbler, due to its gobbling bird sound. This sound is used to attract and fight for female birds. Female turkeys can gobble too, but they normally leave it to the male counterpart to do so. Besides the gobbling, turkeys also are able to make other sounds and actually have many different versions of their sounds. Turkeys like to eat grains, nuts, seeds and grass. More than 70% of a turkey’s diet is made up of grass.

There are several subspecies of turkeys all over the world. Most common in the United States is the Eastern Turkey, followed by the Osceola (Florida) turkey, the Rio Grande turkey, the Merriam’s turkey and the Gould’s turkey. If a hunter manages to shoot in his lifetime one of the first four subspecies in spring, he managed a Grand Slam. If he then adds one of the Gould’s kind, he even managed a North American Grand Slam.

There are numerous ways to pluck wild fowl, and nearly every experienced hunter has his or her own preferred method. One of the most popular methods of plucking wild fowl involves cleaning the wild turkey by plucking all the feathers off, and the gutting the bird afterwards. This method allows for the skin to remain on the turkey, which many preparers prefer because they say it gives the turkey more moisture and flavor when it is cooked. This method also allows you to save the giblets—the gizzard, heart and liver—of the bird and use these to make a traditional turkey graver after it has been cooked.

Why it is Preferable to Pluck the Turkey Before Removing the Entrails

The main reason why you want to remove the feathers from the turkey before removing the entrails is that it helps to keep the inside of the bird cavity clean. In general, the entire process is cleaner if you do it this way. However, if you are accustomed to field dressing your wild fowl kill, you should not worry about plucking the feathers. Instead, be certain to rinse out the bird cavity in order to remove any feathers that may have gotten inside during the plucking process.

Tips and Hints for Plucking Your Wild Fowl

Did you know that wild turkeys have over 5,000 feathers on them? In general, wild fowls are often prized for their plumage. One of the easiest and most treasured ways of plucking wild fowl is to dip the bird in hot water. There are many thoughts on the ideal temperature for using this method. Many people swear that dipping the bird in water at a temperature of exactly 140 degrees is the most efficacious way to remove its plumage. Others believe that any level of boiling water will work just as well. Whatever method you choose, it has been proven that the bird’s feathers will be removed much easier if you dip the bird in hot water. Wild fowl also becomes much easier to handle if the feathers are damp. Otherwise, plumage has been known to fly and drift around the room. The best method for dipping a bird in hot water is to use a large washtub where you can fit the entirety of the bird. There are certain areas of the bird where the plumage is more difficult to remove. The primary wing feathers, which are quite large, often pose a problem for people. Many people opt for removing the wing in order to avoid problems with those large feathers. You can remove the primary wing by moving it past the first joint at the shoulder.

Removing the Legs from the Bird

One of the most important steps in preparing wild fowl comes when it is time to remove the legs. The final step is to remove the entrails. You do this by gutting the bird after removing the feathers. This process is similar to what you would do while field dressing. However, this process is more complete as you often remove the head as well, using a hatchet, cleaver or large knife. However, some people follow tradition and save the neck, which can be cooked in a stockpot. Other parts that are often saved include the giblets, which include the heart, gizzard and liver. Most everyone knows what the heart and liver accomplish, but the gizzard is less well understood. The gizzard is the part of the bird that allows it to grind up its food. In order to use the gizzard, you will want to open it up and clean it out thoroughly. Once clean, you can cook or freeze your wild fowl.