TURKEY POPULATION ????

[saltysenior]

the article mentioned in post #2 , which all should read, is quite old and printed by a group that is really noted not to be hunter friendly  ............has any hunting magazines, organizations,or state natural resource agency put out any info on this occurrence that any members of this forum have come across ? 

[M Sharpe]

High predator populations can cause a decrease in prey species such as turkeys, but turkeys are too small of a percentage of the meat eating predator's diet to affect the populations of the meat eating predators one way or the other.

Turkeys are just one piece of the puzzle. Wasn't implying that turkeys were all they ate. Wild hogs seem to be a big factor in some of the areas I hunt. High hog population..low turkeys. Bunch of nest destroyers.

[silvestris]

No doubt that the rooters destroy nests, however I remember armadillos being quite prevalent in the 70-80s with little detriment to nesting hens, and dillers can really root.  Hogs also compete heavily for mast.  If your game relies on mast to a degree, then hogs must be exterminated.

[Herb McClure]

I have told many times, of my long number of years, hunting the same woods, 59 seasons; where original native turkeys, have always lived. The population has not changed very much over the years, till now. Never was very many turkeys here. However, these are all woods turkeys; with no civilization at all.
Today though, there are high population, of wild hogs, armadillos, coyotes, more hawks and owls; not to mention more turkey hunters too, and the turkey numbers are down; big time.
We have always had weather, and parts of North Georgia here, has the second highest rainfall; in the country. So I don't blame the weather as much as all those new predators; I mention. Yes, we have also, always had wild-cats, coons and skunks here.
herb mcclure     

[saltysenior]

after some research it seems that disease is something all states are concerned with....google ''LPDV in wild turkeys "... 

[saltysenior]

not to be a sky is falling type   BUT through some exploring on the computer ,seems like the population seems to be falling in many states...we are also faced with a decrease in many other birds.... grouse, dove,snipe,woodcock,and the longstanding issue w/ quail... even the whippoorwill seems to be in a decline....

thoughts???
. 

[1tiogabowhunter]

In talking the population decline over with a buddy - I told him that hardly anyone traps or coon hunts in our area anymore.  Back in the late 70's fur prices were high and almost everyone hunted coons and ran a trap line.  Now I can count the number of trappers and coon hunters on two hands.  Forget the coons, foxes and coyotes that we killed how about all the non target animals like skunks and opossums.  All of these predators are hard on nests and poults. 

Wonder how much of a difference this makes...

[THattaway]

Just opinions here but anytime we get hit with a late spring cold wet spell it results in low recruitment. IMHO everything can be perfect and you have a weather pattern set in for a few days during the two weeks from hatch to pin feathers and you just lost a pile of birds. Sure we now have plenty of yotes, hogs showing up in every county too and figure they do their part in damage. Have heard from others that ran extensive trapping on their properties that they saw almost immediate rebounds in turkey numbers in following years.

Me, I can't help but also wonder if there is some chemical that could be getting into the environment that is causing hatch issues. We've always had predators on turkeys, just a different mix now. From what I am seeing this fall we had some decent hatches in upstate SC this year, at least locally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwLPnWMM2h4

[OldSchool]

Our turkey populations have been declining here in NY for some time now. This past spring things were pitiful. Fields/woods that had at least a few birds in them the year before were almost empty.

We had a couple poor nesting seasons in a row and a hard winter here last year, so I'm sure that didn't help, but I don't think it caused all the problems we have here. Our DEC blames it on the above reasons, predators, and possibly too many hens being shot in the fall.

I'm no biologist, but we've had all the above before, and it did cut down on the numbers of turkeys here around home, but nothing like this.

I found an article online this past summer and I can't for the life of me find it now, but it stated that there is a disease affecting the birds not only here, but all over the east. It can cause growths around the eyes, eventually causing blindness, and in the birds mouths/throats, causing them to starve.

I haven't killed a bird that had any growths that I could see, but if that's the case, maybe it has something to do with it.

I know It's a sad state of affairs around here, and I guess other places too.

On the up side, I've seen a couple flocks of hens and young birds over the summer and fall here, so I'm hoping for the best. I can't imagine spring without gobbles.

Bob

 

[turkeykiller22]

There are many things contributing to decline in wild turkey populations, predators, chemicals, disease, weather, etc etc it is a combination of all of these. Right now there are many states that are worried about turkey populations and are trying to study them. Studying turkeys and seeing trends in population can be difficult thing when people want to see science behind it. Hence why many states have not done anything with hunting season/bag limits. Alabama has a research going on with Auburn University radio collaring birds and tracking them. Unfortunately by the time the research is complete and the data is analyzed it will be a few years...

One thing that many people do not realize the that chickens carry NUMEROUS diseases that will affect wild turkeys BUT those same diseases will not affect other chickens in the houses. Once this chicken litter is spread out on the fields it then in turn infects turkeys. If you notice many fields that you use to see birds in that now have chicken litter no longer hold birds. This issue then becomes political because the poultry industry is a lot larger and than the wildlife industry. Talk to your local DNR about this and see if you cant get them to study this...

[saltysenior]

   the last few posts show a reflection of what is happening.....all the normal reasons are part of the problem, but they do not occur throughout the country....a bad spring in VT. does not effect the hatch in Ky.... if it was happening in a private industry, i believe more answers would come out faster....

[davisd9]

People throwing corn out does not help either. It can actually make turkeys sick as it get wet and molds.


Sent from the Strut Zone

[catman529]

Decline is happening in a lot of places but not the entire southeast. Around where I live and hunt the birds are thriving. But people come up here to hunt the public land from just 1 or 2 counties away because their land has mysteriously lost most of its turkeys. They are weird creatures and I'm not sure why they fluctuate so much from one county to the next.


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[catman529]

Also the hatch here this past season was awesome. Looking forward to the next couple years of hunting.


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[turkaholic]

After reading about LPDV and Avion pox I feel that our wild life agencies are just getting started on understanding these diseases. They may be able to link this to the spreading of chicken manure in fields. The two diseases are showing up in most birds tested in the eastern US. They thought it was Avian Pox but now are seeing LPDV and Avian Pox together and findings are relatively widespread. All birds may not show symptoms. Birds showing up with lesions on head and feet  are becoming more prevalent. It seems that where ever they look for it they are finding it. In 2012 NH fish and game sent 6 birds for testing and all came back positive. In NY turkeys peaked in 2001 and have been in steady decline since. NY is very proactive in this and is very concerned, they have trapped and outfitted birds with radio tracking devices. There are many unknowns but they are working on it. This has already effected our NY seasons. The DEC has cut the fall season from 7 weeks to 2 weeks. I can only assume next will be spring season reduction and bag limits. I wished there was something hunters could do to help. I know that I will not feel the same about getting my bird this spring. What would the late great Lovett Williams have to say. I miss his knowledge ang his voice. Google LPDV and check out the article from John  Soltes. Thanks to Salty Senior for his post to bring this out. May the force be with us.