# Turkey sex? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321 "2003-11-20T16:36:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Level3Navigator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Level3Navigator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Level3Navigator)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/1 "2003-11-20T16:36:00Z")
Hey, clean your mind up! I was able to catch Alton Brown’s Turkey show, which was excellent, but he left one question unanswered: What sex of turkey is the best? I see the local stores are selling toms and hens, but which makes for the more tender / juicy bird? Not finding any answers on the food network boards, I turn to that fount of all knowledge, the SDMB. Any Turkey experts out there? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/2 "2003-11-20T16:42:35Z")
Males are called cocks, not toms, surely? ---
**Author:** ![msrexrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@msrexrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msrexrabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/3 "2003-11-20T16:52:27Z")
Toms are rumored to provide a better eatting experience, but tend to have a larger carcass. Hens are typically grown out to 15 weeks of age and Toms to 19 weeks of age. Due to the size of the toms most will go straight towards further processing and you will more commonly see the hens are your whole bodied bird. ---
**Author:** ![msrexrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@msrexrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msrexrabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/4 "2003-11-20T16:55:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Males are called cocks, not toms, surely? \*\* A male turkey is called a tom. What you are thinking of is a male chicken, which is a different species. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/5 "2003-11-20T16:58:29Z")
What I was thinking of was not just chickens, but birds generally. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/6 "2003-11-20T17:02:52Z")
I thought I’d just strut back in here, all conceited, to say [Turkey Cock](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=turkey%20cock). [sub]Although the obviously more prevalent term is indeed ‘tom’ - this is a new one on me[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Level3Navigator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Level3Navigator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Level3Navigator)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/7 "2003-11-20T17:49:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msrexrabbit \* > \*\*Toms are rumored to provide a better eatting experience, but tend to have a larger carcass. Hens are typically grown out to 15 weeks of age and Toms to 19 weeks of age. Due to the size of the toms most will go straight towards further processing and you will more commonly see the hens are your whole bodied bird. \*\* Thanks! But this begs the question: I see the toms are often labeled “young tom”. Is this a USDA standard term, or is that just marketing? If it just says plain “tom” am I getting a bird that is older than a “young tom”? And how much older? I presume the younger bird will be more tender and juicy, but if I get an older bird (for size) can the age be offset by “brining”? I appreciate all facts, hints, and tips on making the perfect turkey (without this degenerating into a MPSIMS-style thread). **Mangetout** , thanks for the link on a turkey “cock.” I’ve always heard “tom” both in the mid-West and East coast (Virginia), although Is this a regional variation? Did it change in a more prudish era to avoid the slang conotation, e.g. breast became “white meat” and thigh became “second joint”? ---
**Author:** ![msrexrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@msrexrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msrexrabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/8 "2003-11-20T18:26:33Z")
the term young tom is probably just a marketing ploy. It may have once been a valid label when it used to take longer to grow out a turkey. We now harvest toms at up to 19 weeks of age. I hardly see how being this “old” could start having a great effect on the quality of the meat, as they have yet to even reached sexual maturity. Cock: 1) a mature male of a number of avian species, but most commonly applied to male chickens one year of age or older. The term is often applied to male pheasants or other game birds, especially those in breeding plumage. 2) a market class of poultry. A cock is a mature male chicken with coarse skin, toughened and darkened meat and a hardened breatbone tip. Tom: a male turkey of any age Given the age turkey we are talking about cock is still an incorrect labeling. Though I do admire your pursuit of knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/9 "2003-11-20T18:39:44Z")
Issues of tenderness aside, just so you don’t have to ask your mother-in-law if she has a preference for light cock or dark cock this Thanksgiving, I’d recommend that you stick with a hen. ---
**Author:** ![msrexrabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@msrexrabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msrexrabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/10 "2003-11-20T18:47:42Z")
might still get strange looks asking about light hen or dark hen. I personally would stick to asking for white meat or dark meat. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/11 "2003-11-20T18:51:47Z")
Just tell her you’ve got a Butterball waiting for her. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/12 "2003-11-20T20:15:28Z")
Either that or promise her you’ll save the turkey neck for her. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turkey-sex/214321/13 "2003-11-20T22:21:38Z")
If you want BIG breasts you’d want a girl turkey. If you’re getting a chicken you might prefer a nice capon 🙂 (BTW, turkey has something in it that makes people sleepy but if that were true, why don’t turkeys fall asleep?)