# Passed this one this morning...



## duckbuster808 (Sep 9, 2005)

Shoulda pulled the trigger on that one.....A bearded hen isn't all that common to begin with, plus with a beard like that not to mention a second beard!!! :yikes:


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## HunterHawk (Dec 8, 2005)

i saw what appeared to be a double beard but thought it may just be the feathers... and yeah you are right... it is about 10.5- 11 inches


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## Zarathustra (Oct 5, 2005)

It's a hen, and you knew it. You did right to pass up the shot. The reason that the law requires you to shoot a bird with a beard is to protect hens at this time of year. You know it's a hen, so you don't shoot. Good job, absolutely the correct call.

Same idea if you have an anterless deer tag and you see a button buck. Is it legal to shoot? yes. But is it ethical? no.


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## eyecatcher1 (Apr 22, 2004)

What makes shooting a legal game animal unethical? Maybe not good conservation but ethical yes! I still would have taken that bird with the single beard. If that is a second beard she has one coming out of her butt to. Great pics and thanks for sharing.


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## kcjablin (Sep 25, 2007)

beer and nuts said:


> Is it just me but I'm not thinking this one is a true hen, I'm thinking this bird might make me think he is an odd ball of the flock!!! I have never seen a head like that on a hen, blue and red, that much color on the feathers and that looks like a decent tail fan!?!? I see hen, but I also see tom!?


It reminds me of a woman I saw at a bar once, she had an adam's apple.


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

That might me a hemophrodite bird...no BS. No spurs, but the coloration indicates a male bird...

IF it happens to be a hen...good job on passing it. Beard or no beard, it still has a clutch of eggs...

And, for those wondering, bearded hens aren't that rare...

Here's a crappy pic of a bearded hen I took not long ago...(you can hold still much better than me!)










...and a tom standing on her back tryin to get a little piece...


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## HunterHawk (Dec 8, 2005)

haha jason no more gay porn :lol:

the first tom i ever shot with my bow had a 12 in beard and no spurs... it looked more like a tom than a hen but he literally had no spurs.. the didnt break off.. he just never grew any... so anything could happen... i mean look at firefighter... he isnt all their either


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## Zarathustra (Oct 5, 2005)

eyecatcher1 said:


> What makes shooting a legal game animal unethical? Maybe not good conservation but ethical yes! I still would have taken that bird with the single beard. If that is a second beard she has one coming out of her butt to. Great pics and thanks for sharing.


Yes, it is absolutely unethical to take that bird knowing it is a hen. To use the fact that the bird happens to have a beard as an excuse to harvest a hen in the spring is pathetic. For god's sake, you can buy a turkey at the grocery store.

If a bearded hen is killed and it is a legitimate mistake, that's one thing. But to purposely kill a hen in the spring because it has a beard is unethical. If you can't understand that, there is no hope for you as a steward of the resource.


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## Critter (Mar 3, 2006)

...


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## buck37 (Aug 8, 2002)

> Yes, it is absolutely unethical to take that bird knowing it is a hen. To use the fact that the bird happens to have a beard as an excuse to harvest a hen in the spring is pathetic. For god's sake, you can buy a turkey at the grocery store.


I get what your saying. But to me it's like saying that it is unethical to shoot a 1.5 yo buck, or a doe. Legal, but for conservation reasons you should pass. Just my opinion.


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## KLR (Sep 2, 2006)

You've got more restraint than I :tdo12: That is a TROPHY bird - I'd drop the hammer in a heartbeat on that *gender confused individual*


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