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Post by bowbum on Jul 6, 2022 15:01:30 GMT -5
I know turkey populations are said to be down in some areas but we are seeing fair numbers. We have a long beard and a jake here each day and are seeing 7 - 9 hens regularly and 3 hens with poults. I know of 4 gobblers taken on this hill. So all-in-all I'm optimistic. |
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Post by bowbum on Jul 14, 2022 8:30:38 GMT -5
We've been seeing these 7 mature hens with no poults. Don't know why they didn't get bred because we did have a lot of toms this year. Attachments:
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Post by fleroo on Jul 14, 2022 9:56:13 GMT -5
They may have been bred, yet lost their poults ? That said, out of 7, you would think at least a few poults would make it ?
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Post by fleroo on Jul 14, 2022 9:56:59 GMT -5
WAIT, I GOT IT ! Perhaps a lesbian flock ?
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Post by davet on Jul 14, 2022 13:45:36 GMT -5
Raccoon raiders? Fox with egg yoke on their face???
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Post by ridgecommander on Jul 15, 2022 6:31:44 GMT -5
If the idea of managing prey species is sound, then the idea of managing predator species should be as well. In the past predator species were heavily targeted. In today's world, many predator species are completely protected, over-protected or vastly underharvested despite growing or stable populations.
I am not saying that predation is the sole reason for decreasing turkey numbers or no poults for those hens but hunters, trappers(whats left of them) and game agencies really need to up their game when it comes to managing predators. The antis and many elected officials want nothing more than predators to control game numbers and we are well on our way with certain species.
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Post by bowbum on Jul 15, 2022 7:26:41 GMT -5
If the idea of managing prey species is sound, then the idea of managing predator species should be as well. In the past predator species were heavily targeted. In today's world, many predator species are completely protected, over-protected or vastly underharvested despite growing or stable populations. I am not saying that predation is the sole reason for decreasing turkey numbers or no poults for those hens but hunters, trappers(whats left of them) and game agencies really need to up their game when it comes to managing predators. The antis and many elected officials want nothing more than predators to control game numbers and we are well on our way with certain species. I totally agree! Raccoon populations are out of control since the decline in trapping and foxes aren't far behind. Add to the mix eagles and hawks and it's easy to see where reproduction success rates,, for turkeys especially, are on the decline. I'm not sure but I suspect some of our adult hens just never get bred. We used to see 10-12 or more toms in gobbler groups in spring but in recent years it "seems" those numbers are closer to 4-5 per group. I don't know what the ratio of toms-to-hens needs to be for good reproduction numbers but obviously fewer toms, due to fall seasons, would make a difference. |
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Post by Dutch on Jul 15, 2022 8:54:36 GMT -5
In the past, we shot predators when we saw them. Seasons weren't an issue. Old guy I used to mow grass for, used to go to Hawk Mountain and shoot hawks in the fall. That was the 1920s.
Today, everything that eats anything, gets protection.
I saw a trail cam photo from a neighbor in Potter of a Golden Eagle going after a fawn from last year. Cool and one in a million photo, but, it does point out the possibilities.
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Post by Dutch on Jul 15, 2022 9:00:07 GMT -5
I would think that coons, possums, and skunks have a very limited home range. So, if you own 100 acres and declare war on them, you'd see better nesting results.
The other week we flushed 7 grouse chicks. My brother, in the same area, flushed 6 the other day. That was refreshing.
I have a trail cam pic of 3 hens, no poults, which sucks
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Post by fleroo on Jul 15, 2022 9:39:15 GMT -5
I call BULLSHUCKY ! How do you know they were chicks.... peek under their tail feathers as they flew away ?
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Post by ridgecommander on Jul 15, 2022 9:48:03 GMT -5
Introducing Marten isn't going to improve nests hatching either.
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Post by Dutch on Jul 15, 2022 10:27:07 GMT -5
Introducing Marten isn't going to improve nests hatching either. They ONLY eat chippies and squirrels!! Don't you know that? LOL So, it's just small game they eat, not one of the Big Three. |
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Post by dougl on Sept 30, 2022 13:15:27 GMT -5
I find it interesting that people all over are talking about all the poults now that we finally didn't have another cold wet spring.The turkey population is down but it's not because of predators.
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Post by davet on Oct 3, 2022 12:06:04 GMT -5
This....just this morning:  |
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Post by whitefalcon on Oct 4, 2022 19:51:51 GMT -5
Thanks for the pics.
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Post by Dutch on Oct 5, 2022 17:00:06 GMT -5
I find it interesting that people all over are talking about all the poults now that we finally didn't have another cold wet spring.The turkey population is down but it's not because of predators. Can't say the same where I hunt in Potter |
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Post by rusty on Oct 6, 2022 18:25:25 GMT -5
I have never seen as many 'coon dead on the roads as I have this year. I talked to a guy who had critters killing his chickens. He live trapped 11 'coons(4 young of the year)and two 'possums in 7 nights using two cage traps. I don't know how the ground nesters are making it. Turkey population is as low as I've seen it since the eighties.
And by the looks of the local corn fields the coon and groundhogs are taking more corn than the deer.
I will trap my place this year for the vermin control, if no other reason.
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Post by ridgecommander on Oct 6, 2022 18:31:20 GMT -5
Here is a troubling years worth of data from Iowa.
● A total of 73 hens were marked last winter.
● As of early August, 27 hens have died for a mortality rate of 38%.
● Of 63 hens available to nest starting on May 1, only 7 nests hatched successfully (i.e., hatched at least one egg; 11% hen success rate).
● Of 33 hens marked with GPS transmitters, 7 hens did not incubate a nest, 17 incubated 1 nest, 8 incubated 2 nests, and 1 incubated 3 nests.
● Most of the nest failure was due to predation, however, one nest failed due to hay mowing and one failed due to abandonment by the hen
● The median day of nest failure was 8 days, and a preliminary nest survival model indicates 50% of nests failed by day 10 of incubation.
● Of the 7 nests that successfully hatched, the average clutch size was 9.9 eggs per nest and the average number of eggs hatched was 7.7 eggs per nest.
● Of the 54 eggs that hatched, 18 poults were observed during poult captures conducted within 1-3 days post-hatch and a total of 12 poults were marked with VHF/radio transmitters.
During 4-week flush counts for 6 of the 7 hens that hatched a nest, a total of 4 poults remained alive. One hen was not flushed because her transmitter failed prior to the 4-week flush count.
Much like the Alabama survey conducted by Dr. Will Gulsby these results clearly show that there is a serious issue in nesting, hatching of a brood, and the survival of a brood. Through a collaborative effort with TFT various state DNRs and Wildlife Biologists hope to identify trends and statistics that are prevalent in all areas where studies are being conducted. This information will prove vital to decisions that can be made to implement changes needed to help the wild turkey survive and prosper.
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Post by bowbum on Oct 7, 2022 7:42:01 GMT -5
A few jakes from yesterday: Attachments:
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Post by bowbum on Oct 12, 2022 18:31:37 GMT -5
Twenty three hens visited us today. Attachments:
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Post by rusty on Oct 13, 2022 5:12:23 GMT -5
Most of the flocks I have seen the last couple years gave been smaller and have fewer poult's than we used to see.
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Post by Loggy on Oct 13, 2022 7:36:00 GMT -5
Yep......flocks ive seen last few years have been a dozen or less.
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