Southern Middle TN Turkey Study

edtcase

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I saw that. I feel there are more than three with declining populations.


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edtcase

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Yep. KY folks and Alabama folks have said same thing to me a few times.


It's been proven through history that women's a mystery! Popeye
 

SKFOOTER

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After all this time and effort put into this study I believe the culprit has been staring them in the face the entire time-------CHICKEN MANURE!! :bash:
 

MickThompson

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I doubt they will be able to isolate a smoking gun. Natural systems are incredibly complex, and are "dirty" places to try to do precise scientific research. It could be litter, could be chicken houses,but could just as well be a natural cycle. Quail, pheasants, and ruffed grouse have well documented up and downs in populations. Why wouldn't turkeys as well?

As for european honeybees and native pollinators, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that we've converted 97% of our native grasslands to some other plant community or land use.
 

TheLBLman

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MickThompson":3ic9u3sz said:
As for european honeybees and native pollinators, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that we've converted 97% of our native grasslands to some other plant community or land use.
Believe you're on to something.

IMO, with the turkeys population declines, it is no one thing.
Just like with quail declines, it is many things.

But if I had to isolate the single biggest contributor to quail declines, it would be the mass elimination of our native grasses.
In many cases, these natives grasses have been replaced with fescue and Johnson grass (both of which have near zero value to quail and most wildlife). But maybe even worse it the replacement of native and non-native grasses with simply bare dirt, from "clean" farming techniques.

In big ag areas, it may be the single biggest contributor to declines of both quail and turkey populations are clean farming practices, whereby bare dirt replaces the cover, and pesticides kill the insects. Yes, there can be value in those agricultural crops, but they typically are not of the better overall value provided by native grasses, especially when most of the crops are harvested with great efficiency, and pesticides reduce the food supply for baby turkeys & quail.

You can have great nesting success of quail & turkeys, but if they have few or no insects to eat, little or no cover to hide from predators,
they die of starvation or get eaten within a matter of days/weeks of hatching.

It may no longer be so much about nesting success as it is about early poult survival.
 

Double00

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Would coyotes be a factor? Particularly with nesting birds. There seems to be a healthy population. They are even seen in the city of Nashville. In the Green Hills area they are spotted waiting on the locals to let their dogs/cats out in the yard.
 

bigasports

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I'm hearing two things that stick out to the biologists looking into this.
Most of the farmers in these southern counties buy their manure from the same factory in North Alabama. This factory has been found to have mites in the manure. A mite can wipe out a whole flock.
The other is the influx of armadillos and fire ants. Armadillos mainly feed on fire ants and have moved further and further north as the fire ants move north. Anyway the armadillos are so numerous that they are feeding on turkey eggs etc.
Again this was info passed to me.
 

Roost 1

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bigasports":2k4o070l said:
I'm hearing two things that stick out to the biologists looking into this.
Most of the farmers in these southern counties buy their manure from the same factory in North Alabama. This factory has been found to have mites in the manure. A mite can wipe out a whole flock.
The other is the influx of armadillos and fire ants. Armadillos mainly feed on fire ants and have moved further and further north as the fire ants move north. Anyway the armadillos are so numerous that they are feeding on turkey eggs etc.
Again this was info passed to me.


Makes as much sense or more than anything I've heard due to how quickly these birds were decimated..
 

bigasports

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Opened the mail today and received this.


a7010ded95628cce9b011d2234585e1a.jpg
 

Rockhound

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bigasports":1rcg76pt said:
I'm hearing two things that stick out to the biologists looking into this.
Most of the farmers in these southern counties buy their manure from the same factory in North Alabama. This factory has been found to have mites in the manure. A mite can wipe out a whole flock.
The other is the influx of armadillos and fire ants. Armadillos mainly feed on fire ants and have moved further and further north as the fire ants move north. Anyway the armadillos are so numerous that they are feeding on turkey eggs etc.
Again this was info passed to me.


I'm not bashing you as you were told this information, but what you have been told is total bull. You will not see an armadillo eating fireants at least not in Tennessee anyway. I've killed a couple hundred and I've never even seen one that remotely looked like it was even close to a fire any mound. I've never even seen a fire ant mound that looks as if something were scrounging around in it.
 

bigasports

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Rockhound":1lda442t said:
bigasports":1lda442t said:
I'm hearing two things that stick out to the biologists looking into this.
Most of the farmers in these southern counties buy their manure from the same factory in North Alabama. This factory has been found to have mites in the manure. A mite can wipe out a whole flock.
The other is the influx of armadillos and fire ants. Armadillos mainly feed on fire ants and have moved further and further north as the fire ants move north. Anyway the armadillos are so numerous that they are feeding on turkey eggs etc.
Again this was info passed to me.


I'm not bashing you as you were told this information, but what you have been told is total bull. You will not see an armadillo eating fireants at least not in Tennessee anyway. I've killed a couple hundred and I've never even seen one that remotely looked like it was even close to a fire any mound. I've never even seen a fire ant mound that looks as if something were scrounging around in it.

I was told this by TWRA. Again as of now it's theory.

http://www.postandcourier.com/archives/ ... b8fd2.html
 

Rockhound

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bigasports":2j6fwwz8 said:
Rockhound":2j6fwwz8 said:
bigasports":2j6fwwz8 said:
I'm hearing two things that stick out to the biologists looking into this.
Most of the farmers in these southern counties buy their manure from the same factory in North Alabama. This factory has been found to have mites in the manure. A mite can wipe out a whole flock.
The other is the influx of armadillos and fire ants. Armadillos mainly feed on fire ants and have moved further and further north as the fire ants move north. Anyway the armadillos are so numerous that they are feeding on turkey eggs etc.
Again this was info passed to me.


I'm not bashing you as you were told this information, but what you have been told is total bull. You will not see an armadillo eating fireants at least not in Tennessee anyway. I've killed a couple hundred and I've never even seen one that remotely looked like it was even close to a fire any mound. I've never even seen a fire ant mound that looks as if something were scrounging around in it.

I was told this by TWRA. Again as of now it's theory.

http://www.postandcourier.com/archives/ ... b8fd2.html


It's possible but I just haven't seen it
 

Boll Weevil

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Hardeman
I tend to agree with Rockhound based on my observations of intact ant hills. The only time I see them disturbed is when I drive a truck or tractor over them.
 

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