i just wanted to see if anyone new of anygood food plots for turkeys that the hens can care for her pouls in and also keep the turkeys healthy and maybe to hunt over. any info would be appreciated
we have had prety good luck just discing up a field(lightly) to turn up some dirt and let the weeds grow.seems there is enough dirt/weed mix that attracts bugs and its fairly easy for the younguns to get at em.
There is some commercial blends that claim to attract bugs and provide good cover for poults.
http://www.whitetailhabitat.com/detail.asp?product_id=BT12
http://www.penningtonseed.com/pc-_18-pd-_167
The area i hunt in SW kansas is just absolutely covered in wild sand plumb thickets. If your area has those growing, i would look towards planting some thickets but be careful! coyotes and foxes LOVE those things too!
Grains like wheat, rye, oats; or millets, milo, clover; of course, corn or beans, sunflowers- anything that makes lots of seeds. Never tried chufa, but it sure gets a lot of attention.
where i hunt there is a big area that stays moist in the neck of 2 woods we run a disc and 4 wheeler through it every fall ad spring and plant milo and chufa, turkey love it but as soon as you start attracting turkeys to the plot you will attrat other varmits to,,,,,
wild mustard also arrtacts turkeys because of the bugs the mustard attracts,,
We have been planting rye, oats, and mix of a few other things for buffer strips at our farm. Used to help control erosion and filter runoff before going into the natural spring fed creek. Turkeys seem to love it and mix between the field, the buffer strips and the oak tree to feed year round. Deer use it for bedding down, but most often used by the turkeys in the spring and fall. We have tall marsh grass that they prefer for the nesting as you can hid about anything including a 12 pt buck in that stuff w/o seeing from as close as 5 ft away. Most don't have the dampness to keep marshgrass, but we have a farm right next to the Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin and with all the natural springs keeps ice free water supply for all the animals year round (which is saying something living in Wisconsin) 8-). Coons, Foxes and Coyotes on the farm (in order of #s), I'm thinking of knocking the coon numbers down this year as they are really making a mess of the corn fields and the Turkeys would appreciate them not getting into the eggs.
I've been told clover works very well.
I have a mix of white and crimmson clover with some chicory mixed in and have turkeys hitting it almost daily. Once planted clover will last for about 5 years. Deer are in it daily as well.
On my farm my go to food plot forage is a mixture...
50-80# of winter rye
100-150# of oats
6-8# white clover or 8-10# of red
This will feed deer and turkey all year. Plant above mix in mid to late August.
On our lease we have been using Chufa and Rut & Strut for about 6 years. Once the birds figure out the Chufa they save it until they clean up all the natural food sources and then they dig it up like crazy. It's really supported our birds weight and overall health as they get it when they need it most. It's easy to grow. Listed as a perennial but due to the birds digging up the root system we need to plant each year.
I am planting chicory and durano clover together for the turkeys . Should have plenty of bugs in there. my friend planted chufas but they ate it up so fast that he no longer plants it. Takes a lot of acreage.
I've had great luck hunting deer and turkeys over WINA clover and Extreme plots.