With turkey hunting, your success can often come down to how realistic your turkey calling is. If you’re squawking away on a box call, it can be a clear signal for a gobbler to stay away. But when you learn how to speak the language and make realistic hen turkey calls, you have a much better chance of sweet talking a tom into shooting range. But how do you learn how to mimic those sounds? Here are some tips you should keep in mind.
As an avid turkey hunter, I often get asked what sound a hen turkey makes. The answer is not as simple as you may think! Hen turkeys actually make a variety of different sounds and vocalizations, depending on the situation. In this article, I’ll break down the main sounds a hen turkey makes, when she makes them, and what each sound means.
The Main Hen Turkey Sounds
Yelps
The most common vocalization from a hen is the yelp. This is a high-pitched, one-note chirp that can come in groups of 3-10 notes. It often sounds like “yelp, yelp, yelp.” There are three main types of yelps:
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Plain yelps Made when turkeys are close together 3-7 notes made 1 second apart
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Lost yelps: Made when separated from flock, up to 20 notes increasing in intensity.
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Assembly yelps: Loud, intense yelps to regroup flock. Drags out like “yuuuup.”
Clucks
Clucks are short, abrupt vocalizations, like “tuck, tuck.” Hens use them to get attention or reassure toms. They come in groups of 1-3 notes.
Purrs
Low, rolling “errrrr” sound made when content. Shows birds are calm. Can be made into an agitated fighting purr.
Cutting
Loud “tut” sounds made rapidly when excited. Used to elicit response from other turkeys.
Cackles
Loud, staccato “tuck” sounds made when flying down from roost. Helps flock stay together.
Kee-kees
Coarse “kee, kee, kee” made by young turkeys who have lost the flock. Used to find flock in fall.
Clucks + Purrs
Clucks and purrs together mean the birds feel safe and content. Reassuring sound.
Putt
Abrupt “putt” indicates alarm or warning of danger.
When Hen Turkeys Make These Sounds
Turkey hens use different vocalizations in specific situations:
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Yelps: Communicating with flock at short range. Getting tom’s attention during breeding.
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Clucks: Reassuring a tom, bringing a hesitant tom into range.
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Purrs: While feeding, preening, or resting. Indicates contentment.
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Cutting: When excited or trying to elicit response from other turkeys.
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Cackles: When flying down from roost in morning or flying up to roost at night.
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Kee-kees: Young birds have lost the flock, trying to find others. Adults regroup.
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Clucks + Purrs: Feeding or resting together, feeling safe.
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Putt: When alarmed or warning others of potential threat.
What It Means When You Hear These Sounds
As a turkey hunter, correctly interpreting hen vocalizations can help you locate and brings birds into range:
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Yelps = Turkeys are near and communicating. Good time to call.
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Clucks = Hens are receptive, try soft clucks to reassure.
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Purrs = Birds are content, maintain steady calling.
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Cutting = Hens are excited, mimic their cutting to elicit response.
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Cackles = Birds are flying down off roost, get ready.
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Kee-kees = Young birds have scattered, regroup flock with kee-kees.
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Clucks + Purrs = Flock is relaxed and feeding, steady soft calling.
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Putt = Your calls or movements have been detected. Freeze.
To summarize, hen turkeys make a variety of sounds like yelps, clucks, purrs and cutts to communicate within the flock and with potential mates. Understanding what each vocalization means can help a hunter interpret the flock’s status and behavior. Mimicking hen calls correctly is key to calling in and bagging a tom turkey. With practice, you’ll be able to speak turkey in no time!
How to Sound Like a Real Hen Turkey
You can watch all the turkey calling videos and tutorials on the internet, but nothing beats watching actual turkeys in the wild and replicating what they’re doing. Wild turkeys have many ways of communicating, and hen turkey calls have a lot of variability when it comes to tone and cadence. Some hens are higher or lower pitched than others, and some are aggressive callers, while others are quieter. By observing those differences and trying to mimic them on your own turkey calls, you can become infinitely better at calling turkeys.
In the video below, Michael has a close encounter with one of the most talkative hens around. If you haven’t ever been in a similar situation before, pay attention to how this hen acts and how she respond to Michael’s calls.
Best Wild Turkey Hen Calling and Yelping 2
FAQ
What sound do hen turkeys make?
The most commonly heard sound in the turkey woods is made by the hen, and it’s called a yelp. Toms also yelp, but it’s louder, raspier and often more drawn-out than that of hens. The yelp is usually delivered in a series of one-note tunes.
Do female turkeys make noise?
The female, or hen, has her own language. Here are the most common ones, which you can listen to at nwtf.org/hunt/ wild-turkey-basics/turkey-sounds: ASSEMBLY: A series of loud yelps used by a hen to assemble her flock or young poults. It’s usually a little more emphatic and longer than a standard series of yelps.
Are hen turkeys loud?
Assembly Call. The adult hen assembly call is a series of loud yelps, usually a little more emphatic and longer than a standard series of yelps. The assembly yelp is used by a hen to assemble her flock or young poults. It is a good call in the fall when trying to call a scattered flock back together.
How do you tell if a turkey is a hen?
But the easiest and quickest way to identify your first year toms from your hens (even in the wild) is their chest feathers!! Once their chest feathers come in, toms have the more showy bronzed feathers with black tips and the hens have the more dull feathers with white tips!!
Why do turkeys make a sound?
Turkeys that make this sound are normally worked up over something, probably a hen torn up over a tom, or hens fighting for dominance. Using this call can help you pick a fight with the dominant hen that is occupying your sought after gobbler.
Do turkeys make a gurgling sound?
There is a myth that only male turkeys can make the gobble sound; however, hens can make the loud, rapid gurgling, just as chicken hens can crow. A purr is a low, soft, rolling sound, like a kitten’s purr. A contented kitten will make a soft purring sound. A contented turkey also makes a soft purring sound.
What sound does a male turkey make?
By far the most recognizable of the turkey sounds, the gobble is one of the main sounds that a male turkey will use. This sound is also the reason we call toms/male turkeys “gobblers”. Male turkeys use this call to let every turkey in the area know he is there and he wants to mate.
Why do hens make clucking noises?
Mother turkeys sitting on eggs will make cluck and purr noises as she talks to her unhatched poults. The sound is reassuring and encouraging to the birds in their eggs. When a male approaches, hens become excited and make cutting noises. Cutting is a turkey sound that indicates a hen is excited.
Do humans hear the sounds made by wild turkeys?
Humans rarely hear most of the sounds made by wild turkeys. For communication purposes, they have developed a distinctive set of sounds. Some sounds are produced to communicate with a particular subset of birds or by members of a particular gender or age group.
How do you Cluck a hen turkey?
The key is to learn the proper context and intensity to generate a quality cluck. Cutting is a series of fast, loud clucks. Cutting is the most sexually aggressive of the hen turkey sounds.