A friend asked me last week if I knew anyone that wanted some baby turkeys, I just assumed they from some tame birds.
NOPE!
Her uncle ran over a nest while bush hogging a couple weeks ago that had 15 eggs in it. He took them and hatched them out.
Poults in March...this is one crazy spring!!! Over 30 some years of spring hunting the earliest I've ever seen poults here is first of May.
That is crazy. Check the laws before anybody gets in trouble though. Most states have laws against possessing or sale of wildlife like that. Just a heads up.
What part of the state are you in?
Quote from: forcercon1 on April 05, 2012, 04:29:21 PM
What part of the state are you in?
Between Roanoke & Lynchburg
WOW
There was a topic on another forum a guy seen a hen with poults around knoxville Tn a week or so ago
thats crazy!
That's absolutely nuts!!! I would like to here all the " turkeys breed according to daylight not temp"people explain that one. When you hear of stuff like poults in march kinda don't know what to think
Justin
Now Barry,I'm a true believer in anything you say but She must have been a crack hen that had to have her fix early. No signs of poults in my neck of the woods in Bama.Waaaaaay to early in my opinion. And for yalls sake I hope this was a "Freak" accident. ;D ;D ;D
Saw a hen with some poults in western NC a week ago.
I had always went with the daylight/breeding and temps/gobbling theory. That was until I seen a Tom attempting to breed a hen back in early or mid march. Been seein hens go off to nest for awhile now. Won't be shocked to see poults anytime. I don't know what to think anymore. Birds have been gobbling HARD on and off the limb. Don't seem overly henned up either. Middle Tennessee.
I know of 4 or 5 different sets of poults seen by different people in VA in the last week. This season is gonna be over before it gets here.
Hunt hard the first two weeks, boys.
I want to be wrong, but I think it's going to be over fast.
I think it's already over here in Eastern NC. I haven't seen any poults yet but where I'm scouting and took a youth out on Saturday, we are seeing lone hens by themselves feeding and Gobblers by themselves. Very little gobbling going on. Hunt hard Everyone.
Personally I think that early breeding could make for great hunting. I know here in WI I find the late season to be great hunting after most hens have breed and are on eggs. I also know that hens will re-breed if young are lost (have found hens on eggs in early july more then once) that means some toms must be willing to have some fun.
Quote from: carp84 on April 10, 2012, 08:56:47 AM
I also know that hens will re-breed if young are lost (have found hens on eggs in early july more then once) that means some toms must be willing to have some fun.
I believe I read in an article by Dr. Lovette Williams that hens don't have to re-breed .. they can hold the sperm inside them and use it to fertilize a new clutch of eggs from the first time they were bred after a nest is destoyed.
That said though I agree that the toms would be willing pretty much anytime if the hens would let them.. they are just like any other guy :)
Yes I do agree that if coons or what not get the nest she doesn't have to re-breed but I was saying if she loses her young a week or 2 after hatching she will need to re-breed.
A hen can selectively re-inseminate herself with stored sperm up to 30 days after the breeding.
Not good.
Opening week of season here in extreme SW Ga was good then it was over. I've never seen it like this.
Quote from: Hookhunter on April 06, 2012, 09:20:32 PM
That's absolutely nuts!!! I would like to here all the " turkeys breed according to daylight not temp"people explain that one. When you hear of stuff like poults in march kinda don't know what to think
Justin
I agree, I know I made several posts at other forums with concern of the PA starting April 28 th, and it would be short lived. Most replies said the same, "I will be the same as every year" " It goes on the amount of daylight, not temp." etc.
it dosen't take a Bioligist to realize the the Season will be short lived when you are hearing and seeing the kind of turkey activity a good month before the Season, that you normally see and hear right before the opener.
Quote from: carp84 on April 10, 2012, 08:56:47 AM
Personally I think that early breeding could make for great hunting. I know here in WI I find the late season to be great hunting after most hens have breed and are on eggs. I also know that hens will re-breed if young are lost (have found hens on eggs in early july more then once) that means some toms must be willing to have some fun.
I tend to agree, but disagree. To me the best hunting is when hens are willingly going to hens, but key here, is as they thin down in numbers or visit nest in great numbers. As the Toms are accustomed to hens coming to them, and can't stand it when they don't in this timeframe. It's catching them at the right time here.
Fast foward to all hens breed, sure the first day or two can be dynomite. But once his is conditioned for a few days of no hens coming, It's like they know and hunting goes South, where you are now hunting silent Tom groups. Just my opinion, as crazy as it sounds, henned up birds are no good, but you still need them accustomed to some hens going to them for the best hunting.
It seems likely that the hen wasn't even incubating yet and when he started incubating the eggs then it started the process that much earlier. Turkeys will lay a nest full of eggs before they really start incubating them. Either way, I don't think your game warden will be too happy about those eggs and if those turkeys were to be released back into the wild it won't be long before they are food for a predator.
If the original poster was able to communicate with the farmer who hatched the eggs, we would easily determine whether they were in incubation period or still laying. It takes 28 days on incubation from the starting point till hatching occurs. If it took less time than this, you have your answer. All i can say with conviction is that here in central PA, the birds are henned up hard, gobbling heavy on the roost and clamming up quickly on the ground. Its right about where I want to see it, as the youth hunt is next wkd, and our season starts the following week. I think we will find favorable conditions, the majority of hens in incubation, and the gobblers alone and willing. I will be surprised if harvests are below average this year, as turkey numbers are very high and breeding here doesn't seem to be off schedule by more than a week or two from what i see every year. April is marked by the bulk of breeding, incubation occurring mostly in May, but I would have no problem seeing two weeks ahead, perhaps. That early, warm weather only really lasted a week or two here, and green up is still happening gradually. Driving north this evening, you can see a clear line of green up the bottom third of the mountains, but leaf out hasn't reached the higher elevations yet. I feared early green-up more than I feared the hunting would be bad.
Three or four years ago I had some Jakes on my property that were bigger and had longer beards than normal for that time of year. Always thought that it was from early hatching.
They acted like may turkeys today....
150+ gobbles on the roost that began at 538am and virtual silence after 620am.
I'm very worried after listening to them hammer day in and day out for 5 weeks.
we usually have poults here by the end of may
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 10, 2012, 10:53:31 AM
A hen can selectively re-inseminate herself with stored sperm up to 30 days after the breeding.
no wonder they get so fired up. if it was that way with humans we would literally have chase our women down and tie them up :drool: