Boss Hens

[Mike Belt]

I always read and hear about "boss" gobblers being too smart to decoy or be called in, usually because of hens with them or nearby. Other than leading the gobblers away I never see any credit given to the hens. On too many occasions I've had a strutter pulled away from me by hens that might have been workable if they hadn't been there. Why? If you stop and think about it they're a lot like deer in that it's the females that have to maneuver the landscape watching out for themselves and their young, thus actually making them more vigilant than the gobblers. Also, even when you successfully call a gobbler into gun range and make the shot, it's the hens that live and learn through that experience. Just food for thought here, but maybe it's not just that they don't want the competition from other hens but because they know what's going on and are actually smarter than the gobblers.

 

[catman529]

Hens are the most spooky ones I encounter during the spring season.


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[Setterman]

I agree completely, hens have to have learned over the years

 

[stik]

i believe it's more of an extreme paranoia than a learned behavior.

 

[catman529]

i believe it's more of an extreme paranoia than a learned behavior.

sure turkeys are paranoid by nature, but I've had some hens act very curious around me at close range, while others took off flying as soon as they got close enough to see me.


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