Turkey Routine and Decoy Experts..Need Help Please

[cornfedkiller]

I have a ton of questions here (and sorry this is kinda all over the place), so please help me in any way you can-

I bowhunt for turkeys, so my decoys are kind-of an important part of my hunting, but I have a few questions about it that Im hoping some experts can answer for me.

Ok, so I often hear people talking about using different decoys depending on which part of the spring, breeding season, etc it is, and I also have a few questions about what turkeys are up to as the spring progresses.

So from the way I understand it, breeding typically happens late march into early april, then hens lay eggs (one per day) for like the next week and a half.  Then the hens incubate the eggs for 28 days and the eggs hatch in mid to late may.  Correct me if I have anything wrong there..

So the hens get bred, and then what are their daily routines?  Do they hang out, eat, etc and then head to their nests to lay an egg like at mid-day or something?  Do they roost with the toms and travel together, or do the hens kinda do their own thing after they are bred, and the toms just kinda follow them?

When all the eggs are laid and it comes time for the hens to incubate the eggs (for those 28 days), how many hours a day do they spend on the nest?  Again, are the toms still seeking them out during this time?

On to the decoys - are there times when just using a lone hen the best option rather than putting a jake/tom decoy with it?  Are there times when its best to use only a jake or tom?

I think understanding what turkeys do throughout the spring will help me hunt them better, so hopefully you guys can help me out.

[MOStrutter]

If the birds are covered up in hens, you may want to try just using a jake deco and calling to the boss hen in the group.  Copy everything she says and get her absolutely pissed.

[gunnerj]

Ground temp has a lot to do when the hens start letting the toms mount. More times than not up here in the hinterland the frost isn't out of the ground until later than early April. In northern Iowa (in which I'm 25 miles from Albert Lea MN) breeding is going on usually until May 1st. Obviously this is NOT a normal year. We've seen breeding going on the last 2 weeks. Now, the tom only has to breed the hen once for the whole clutch of eggs. I found this out from a IDNR biologist. Why the hens go back more than once is beyond me, other than mixing toms (they're floozies). Once incubation starts, they'll cool the nest, but this all has to do with temperature of the nest and outdoor temperature.
With your decoys, start with the jake and a hen or a jake alone. I don't use a lone hen anymore (especially an alert hen). The toms expect you to go to them after they've made eye contact. 
Finally, don't try to overthink the situation. Turkeys are not smart. Turkeys are paranoid and creatures of habit.

[cornfedkiller]

Thanks gunner-

So do hens hang out with the toms until they are bred?  They dont start laying eggs until they are fertilized I assume?  So if there are hens that are laying eggs now as I saw someone else here mentioned (which he said is normal for PA), she has already been bred?

You mentioned that even after the hens are bred, they keep going back to the toms - so does this mean that toms are interested in hens the whole spring?  Or do they get less and less interested in hens as the season progresses - like deer when its not the rut?

[gunnerj]

Thanks gunner-

So do hens hang out with the toms until they are bred?  They dont start laying eggs until they are fertilized I assume?  So if there are hens that are laying eggs now as I saw someone else here mentioned (which he said is normal for PA), she has already been bred?

You mentioned that even after the hens are bred, they keep going back to the toms - so does this mean that toms are interested in hens the whole spring?  Or do they get less and less interested in hens as the season progresses - like deer when its not the rut?

Hens will hang out after they are bred. I'm not sure on the time between breeding and laying. Toms are still coming in the 20th of May down here to a yelp, and they are still gobbling on the roost. There is normally a lull between breeding and post rut.  Now like deer, if they are not successful on the first breeding, the hens, like does, will come back around, especially if they get washed off the nest. Later clutches are a norm during really wet springs here. I'm not sure exactly when the toms stop, but it's after season down here. I'm usualy fishin' by then. 

[cornfedkiller]

Thanks again gunner..that pretty much answers all of my questions - til next time 

Good luck this spring!

[jakebird]

Even though the hens is bred sufficiently after one treading, she'll continue to visit the gobblers until incubation begins. When they start to lay, they usually skip a day beteen the first three or four eggs, then lay daily until her clutch is full. I belive the average is about 17. Each day she will feed, have a little date with the gobbler, then slip away in mid to late morning and lay another gg, turn the others. She'll start to cover the eggs with leaves. When her clutch is full, she will stop roosting in trees and sleep on the nest. She'll only leave it for brief periods to feed and defecate until the eggs hatch. That magic window when most hens begin incubation is the best time to kill a gobbler. Mature gobblers maintain elevated testosterone levels longer than younger birds and are more likely to still be seeking or receptive to hen calls later, even into june in some areas. Sometimes hens will lose a nest and breed again. Matt Morrett once saw a wild gobbler and hen breeding near Harrisburg in July.

[younggun08]

where are y'all from in PA? im at college right now in shippensburg and thinking about going to the tuscarora (think thats spelled right...) state forest. any experience there? or any other places in this area? trying to find a good huntin spot around here