WILD TURKEY MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH

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• WILD TURKEY MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH

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A WILD TURKEYS YEAR

• Spring
• Breeding
• Nesting
• Hatching
• Summer
• Poults grow quickly
• Gobblers leave the hens

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A WILD TURKEYS YEAR

• Fall
• Flock breakup
• Adult and juvenile hens
• Adult gobblers
• Juvenile gobblers
• Winter
• Foraging for survival
• Establishing dominance

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MANAGING WILD TURKEYS ON YOUR LAND

• For the purposes of this discussion, well assume
  you already have some turkeys, for at least part
  of the year, on your land
• Well explore what you as a landowner can do to
  make your property attract and produce more
  turkeys

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HISTORY

• Turkeys were once thought to require large,
  unbroken tracts of mature forest
• In fact, for most of the early part of the 20th
  century, the few turkeys that survived were found
  only in remote, wild areas
• The logical assumption was that this habitat was
  what turkeys must have

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HISTORY

• We now know that those large, unbroken forest
  areas were the only places where turkeys were
  able to find refuge from human activity and
  unrestricted hunting
• As game laws and their enforcement improved and
  many American families left their farms for the
  city, turkey populations began to increase

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TRAP AND TRANSFER
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation
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TRAP AND TRANSFER
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As turkey populations began to grow, research
focused on their requirements.
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REQUIREMENTS

• Now we know that turkeys can do very well on much
  smaller acreage than was previously thought, but
  that certain requirements must be met.

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FOOD

• Turkeys are omnivorous, and use a wide variety of
  different food items
• Insects are very important as a protein source
  for poults and adults
• Seeds are important, especially grass seeds

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FOOD

• Hard mast such as acorns or beechnuts can be
  critically important in fall and winter
• Soft mast, including grapes, blackberries and
  dogwood berries, is important in all seasons

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WATER

• Turkeys need access to permanent water this is
  often a limiting factor in the West
• They also, at least in the South, often prefer to
  roost over water

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HABITAT

• Good turkey habitat should contain a good
  interspersion of the following diverse areas

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NESTING HABITAT

• Young, relatively thick growth
• Usually occurs 1 or 2 years past a prescribed
  fire or clear-cut
• Good nesting areas have at least some overhead
  cover and a minimal amount of disturbance

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BROOD REARING AREAS

• Open, grassy areas, near the nesting area
• High insect production
• Not too thick for poult movement
• Good level of cover for the poults
• Not so high or thick that the hen cant see the
  surroundings

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FALL/WINTER HABITAT

• Bottomland hardwoods, especially oaks, with an
  open understory
• Upland mixed pine/hardwoods, also relatively open
  
• Chufa patches, preferably over 1 acre in size
• Oat/wheat/clover patches

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SPRING/SUMMER HABITAT

• Open areas, either old fields, harrowed fields,
  wildlife openings or burned areas, near open
  woods
• Areas planted in winter/spring annuals such as
  oats, wheat and clover
• Grassy, seed producing openings
• Chufa patches

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WHAT CAN YOU DO?

• Most properties can be manipulated in a variety
  of ways that will enhance their ability to
  produce and attract turkeys.
• In determining what the land manager should do,
  the following should be considered

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LIMITING FACTORS

• Are there good areas for turkeys to nest?
• Brood rearing?
• Food in all seasons?
• Open woods with open understory?
• Low levels of disturbance, especially in nesting
  season?
• Compatible land use on adjacent properties?

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MANAGEMENT

• What can the land manager do to remove the
  limiting factor(s)?

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MAINTAIN NESTING AREAS

• Discourage entry or timber activities during
  spring and early summer
• Fence to keep livestock out
• Mow or burn in alternate years

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PRESCRIBED FIRE

• One of the cheapest, most effective management
  tools
• Can be tailored to produce specific results

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Head fires, moving with the wind, produce higher
flame heights and temperatures
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Back fires, moving into the wind, are cooler
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WINTER
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SPRING
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MAINTAIN BROOD-REARINGAREAS

• Make openings near nesting cover
• Plant native warm season grasses
• Maintain openings by late summer mowing or
  fall/winter burning

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PLANT FOOD PLOTS

• Soil tests are critical
• Lime and fertilize as recommended
• Plant the right crop
• Plant at the right time

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SOIL TESTS

• Critical to good food plots
• Simple and cheap
• Will save money in the long run

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CHUFA

• A member of the sedge family
• Produces tubers that turkeys love
• Plant in the early summer
• Turkeys will begin to use chufa plots in the fall

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CHUFA
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• Plant at least an acre per plot in full sun
• Broadcast at 50 pounds per acre
• Cover to a depth of 1.5 inches
• Or row plant in 36 inch rows at 25-30 pounds per
  acre
• Follow soil test recommendations for corn
• Control grass competition

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WINTER FOOD PLOTS

• Winter annuals such as oats and wheat
• Clover, both red and white

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WHEAT AND OATS

• Lime and fertilize to soil test
• Broadcast 2-3 bushels per acre
• Cover to depth of 1.5 inches
• Plant clover over the top
• Plant in late September through October

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WHEAT
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CLOVER

• Plant in the fall
• Use a mixture of red and white clovers
• Broadcast or use small seed attachment for grain
  drill
• 10-20 pounds per acre, depending on type
• Lime and fertilize to soil test

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EXCLOSURE
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SUMMER FOOD PLOTS

• Millets, such as browntop, proso and pearl
• Native warm-season grasses such as big and little
  bluestem, Indian grass and orchard grass
• Sunflower
• Grain sorghum

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PLANT MAST-PRODUCING SEEDLINGS

• Sawtooth oaks?
• Genetically selected native oak seedlings
• Autumn olive, dogwood, crabapple

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Autumn Olive
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Fast-growing, selected, native oak seedlings can
produce acorns in less than 10 years
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PINE PLANTATIONS

• Thin as soon as commercially possible
• Third row or fifth row thin
• Cool, late season prescribed fire to promote
  spring grasses and forbs
• Plant winter annuals such as wheat, oats and
  clover between rows

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MAINTAIN MATURE HARDWOODS

• Regenerate with small clearcuts or shelterwood
  cuts
• Promote a mix of oak types that includes both red
  and white oaks
• Be careful not to burn too hot, check air
  temperature and humidity carefully

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HARVEST STRATEGY

• Hens are off limits, at least during population
  expansion
• Encourage hunters not to shoot jakes
• Dont over-harvest the gobblers (this is not a
  problem for most of us, but research shows it can
  happen)

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NWTF SPONSORED RESEARCH
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EARLY RESEARCH

• Life history
• Population dynamics
• Habitat use
• Movements
• Gobbler mortality
• Now, research is taking new directions.

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CHESTNUT RESTORATION
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CHESNUT RESTORATION

• Developing a blight resistant American chestnut
• Work in progress for more than 30 years
• Out-plantings growing well on native chestnut
  range
• Approaching 3rd generation

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CANKER
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OCELLATED TURKEY PROJECT

• Guatemala
• Pilot project on providing economic incentive for
  conserving turkeys
• Sport hunting income goes to local villages

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GUZZLER PROJECT

• Investigating the importance of guzzlers in the
  Keg Mountains, Utah
• Will artificial water sources allow turkeys to
  occupy Pinon/Juniper areas?

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DRINKER
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All turkeys from last years stocking have died
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Drought killed half, predators got the rest
But now were trying again with more turkeys
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DNA COMPARISONS

• Using DNA analysis to distinguish wild from
  domestic turkeys
• Law enforcement applications
• Restoration applications

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LA BREA OSTEOLOGICAL COMPARISONS

• La Brea turkey same genus as modern
• minor differences in beak and sternum

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CHUFA VS NUTSEDGE

• Compare and contrast
• Little potential for crossing
• Distinct differences
• Flower at different times
• Different arrangement and structure of tubers

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Texas and Kansas Rio Grande Study

• Since January 2000, 724 turkeys radio collared
• One post-doc, 6 grad students
• Found 219 nests, put transmitters on 123 poults
  from 39 broods
• Found that large, traditional roost sites are
  extremely important

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ECONOMICS OF TURKEY HUNTING 2003

• Average per hunter 784
• Total retail sales 1.8 billion
• Jobs 41,323
• Taxes, salaries wages 1.4 billion
• Total multiplier effect 4.4 billion

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NWTF VINEYARD STUDY

• WHATS REALLY EATING VINEYARD GRAPES?

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CROP DEPREDATION (INDIANA)WHATS REALLY EATING
CORN AND SOYBEANS?
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NEOTROPICAL MIGRANTSONGBIRDS (TENNESSEE)

• Effects of openings on neotropical migrant
  songbirds and turkeys
• Compared forest areas with no openings to areas
  that were thinned and burned
• Bird use higher on treated areas than on control

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IMPACTS OF PREDATION ON WILD TURKEYS

• Literature search
• Predation is the main cause of mortality
• Production more than makes up for losses
• Predator control not cost efficient or needed,
  but fur trapping for profit OK
• Habitat improvements can make a big difference

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THE IMPACT OF OVER-WINTER NUTRITION ON RIO GRANDE
WILD TURKEY PRODUCTIVITY

• Physiological condition/poult production
• Timing of physiological decision to reproduce
• Relationship between food classes, physiological
  condition and poult production
• Effects of exotic grasses

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CENSUS USING CAMERAS

• Test and refine remote camera/bait station survey
  technique
• Visible leg bands for ID
• Determine optimum spacing
• Determine optimal season for camera placement

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GOBBLER SURVIVAL AND GOBBLING IN VIRGINIA AND
WEST VIRGINIA

• Main project will investigate factors affecting
  gobbling
• Gobbler survival
• Half day vs. all day hunting

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