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I had to run into town this evening for a few things. On the way back I was only 2 tenths of a mile from home when I saw a hen turkey on the road with only 1 poult. The wet, cold spring has had a bad affect obviously.
Here it has been a good spring for poults, too. I got this picture on May 27. They look to be no more than 2 or maybe 3 days old. She was already down to four, and the weather had been perfect.fall gobbler said:Wet, cold spring? Around here it's been a perfect spring for poult survival, warm and dry, and we needed it.![]()
I really like when you chime in with your experiences and I hope you continue to do so.R. S. B. said:Some hens lose all of their poults and some will successfully get a dozen or more through to the fall hunting season. It has always been that way. Throught the thirty five years of my career, while I was keeping track of and reporting every turkey I saw through June, Juky and August I saw hens with no poults to hens with over dozen poults. That is just how nature works.
The worst years were always the ones with cold, wet weather from late May through July though. So far this year has been a good one for poult production in this area. Still way too early to determine how it compares to other years in total poult numbers though.
Dick Bodenhorn
Do you think it is just a "good year" for turkey propagation?R. S. B. said:I talked with the PGC Elk County Food and Cover Crew Foreman yesterday. He and his crew members are out doing field work on the various Elk County game lands every day. He told me he has been seeing a lot more turkey and grouse poults this year than he had seen the past few years. He believes this is a good year based on what he has seen so far.
Dick Bodenhorn
Consistent with what R.S.B. said, I found a nest of 13 eggs after season in Chautauqua County, NY. Seven had hatched, and 6 didn't. With mortality high in turkeys, it's easy to see how the hen, covering 13 eggs, might have only two or three chicks with her by mid-June.R. S. B. said:Some hens lose all of their poults and some will successfully get a dozen or more through to the fall hunting season. It has always been that way. Throught the thirty five years of my career, while I was keeping track of and reporting every turkey I saw through June, Juky and August I saw hens with no poults to hens with over dozen poults. That is just how nature works.
The worst years were always the ones with cold, wet weather from late May through July though. So far this year has been a good one for poult production in this area. Still way too early to determine how it compares to other years in total poult numbers though.
Dick Bodenhorn