Turkey Decline in SM Tn

[Beard Buster]

Question for those that hunt in southern middle TN
with the decline in turkey harvest and sightings
are none of you finding dead birds
feathers don't go away
One winter I once found over 15 different piles of feathers
from where predators caught and killed birds

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Question for those that hunt in southern middle TN
with the decline in turkey harvest and sightings
are none of you finding dead birds
feathers don't go away
One winter I once found over 15 different piles of feathers
from where predators caught and killed birds

I haven't but I know people that have

 

[catman529]

Feathers aren't that easy to find unless they're on the edge of a low cut field, or you just happen to walk on top of one. And even disease killed birds would leave a pile of feathers after being eaten by varmints.

Predators definitely have an impact, but there's more to it in the southern counties where huge flocks disappeared in only a year or two. Where I live there's a healthy predator population, and I've found several feather piles in the field edges and seen and heard a lot of coyotes, coons, possums, skunks, you name it. Yet we still have a thriving turkey population. When most of your flock disappears in 2 years, and there are healthy populations just a short ways to the north, you have something other than predators or hunting pressure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[brewer88]

Up here in the northern middle I saw a pile of feathers a couple weeks ago....proceeded to take 5 steps and shoot what I suspect was the coyote responsible as he made his way to where we were calling from....ive seen yotes every weekend on ft Campbell for the last 3 weeks, usually headed to our calls it seems.

 

[TheLBLman]

One winter I once found over 15 different piles of feathers
from where predators caught and killed birds

There's a possibility the bigger problem was aflatoxin corn, which sickened and/or killed the birds, then the predators found those birds an easy meal.

We'll probably never know, and it may be little more than happenstance, but the increased use of "feeders" and feeding "deer corn" appears to have coincided nicely with the decrease in poult production & turkey populations in many areas which once had great turkey populations.

A totally different issue, but during the spring season, I suspect many of the presumably "missed" birds that run or fly after being shot at, may end up being quickly "targeted" by coyotes, even if their injuries might not have been mortal. (Think about it; it's hard to totally miss an entire bird with a shotgun; just easy not to have a quick kill.) Once a coyote catches that minute scent of blood, he's going to specifically target that animal (or bird), seeming to know that one is injured and weakened.

Just because a coyote eats a bird, doesn't mean he necessarily killed that bird (or deer).

 

[Woodsman10]

They just aren't hatching/raising good

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[LanceS4803]

I hunt turkeys in Lincoln County (north of Fayetteville).
Turkeys started declining two years ago, dramatically. I've taken a couple of coyotes and opossums a year, but that hasn't changed anything.

 

[Mule deer]

I posted this in the "How has your season been so far?" thread, before I saw this. I'll leave this here as well....


I'm glad this has been brought up because it's been the toughest season I've seen in 10 years. Maybe we have a problem.

Statewide, harvest numbers have not really decreased this year, but sightings of adult birds are down. I found a dead gobbler on Nov 24 and didn't think much of it. It had a dark head that had been pecked at by other birds, the feet were yellowish and breast was drawn and had no meat on it. We ended up finding another bird several weeks later in the same condition. During the deer season we were seeing large flocks of birds. Sometime between last Dec and present, they're gone. I understand what happens with big winter flocks, vrs. birds disperssing in the spring. Normally, we hold a lot of birds on our property. 2 years ago we killed 26 birds on our property and last year 16, this year we've killed 4. There has been a steady decline in bird numbers over the last years, but the way people choose to hunt birds (tents, fanning etc) has resulted in static numbers. We hunt 4000 acres and go to great lengths to trap and shoot predators, so they are not the problem.

I spend a lot of time on the road for work and I'm always looking for strutters. I didnt see many birds at all this spring. I attributed it to an early breeding season and assumed the second half of the turkey season was going to be better. That hasn't been the case. I talked with some folks around middle TN, all the way down to GA and most have not seen the numbers of birds we are accustomed to seeing. After much discussion, it seems there is an outbreak of Blackhead disease. From what I have learned recently is that birds with Blackhead will show a black or blue-ish head, rotting of the feet, the bird will appear to be sluggish and later become anorexic, leading to significant weightloss.

As I memtioned, we don't have very many foxes, coyotes, etc, so we have found some of these dead birds, rather than them being eaten by predators. I'm wondering if anyone else has seen this condition in their birds as well. Take a look at the pictures below, it's here in Middle TN and I'm sure our statewide harvest numbers next year will show it.

 

[Woodsman10]

I don't know what's wrong with that turkey.
Blackhead does not effect the head of the turkey. It is in the liver.
It could be some type of diversion disease getting them, but i think that they haven't been raising good for several years for whatever or several reasons

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[Andy S.]

Blackhead does not effect the head of the turkey. It is in the liver.

Correct. You can read this bulletin to better understand it. http://www.mdwfp.com/media/7860/blackheaddisease.pdf

 

[Mule deer]

I don't know what's wrong with that turkey.
Blackhead does not effect the head of the turkey. It is in the liver.
It could be some type of diversion disease getting them, but i think that they haven't been raising good for several years for whatever or several reasons

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

sorry you're both incorrect....it does cause leisions on the liver, but it absolutely effects the head of the turkey. Why else is it called Blackhead Disease? the blue-ish or black head is the last sign of Blackhead disease, gfter they are emaciated, after they are lethargic....etc.

A characteristic symptom of the infection is the development of cyanotic (bluish) discoloration on the head, giving rise to the common name of the disease, "blackhead".[4]

 

[Woodsman10]

I've never heard of it causing blackheads, and I have an extensive poultry background

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[Woodsman10]

Not saying I don't believe you though.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

but i think that they haven't been raising good for several years for whatever or several reasons

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Which could very well be caused by disease, or a weed killer, or a pesticide.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Normally, we hold a lot of birds on our property. 2 years ago we killed 26 birds on our property and last year 16, this year we've killed 4. There has been a steady decline in bird numbers over the last years, but the way people choose to hunt birds (tents, fanning etc) has resulted in static numbers. We hunt 4000 acres and go to great lengths to trap and shoot predators, so they are not the problem.

m/albums/ad111/HuntKY/IMG_6924.jpg[/img][/url]

You just told us why you don't have any turkeys.

You expect to kill 42 turkeys off of 4000 acres in 2 years and still have a great population? ??

That's just plain stupid, and to come here and complain about it is just plain damned ignorance.

 

[SKFOOTER]

op:

 

[poorhunter]

One turkey per 150 acres doesn't seem too bad. I am making some assumptions that it is good habitat. I have 5 farms that I hunt, smallest is 90 acres and largest is 200. Each one of these have had between 3 and 8 gobblers most of the time this spring. I limit myself to one or at most two on each depending on whether anyone else gets permission to hunt them as well. Good habitat can (I think) support 1 bird killed per 150 acres...4000acres/26kills.

 

[Mule deer]

Normally, we hold a lot of birds on our property. 2 years ago we killed 26 birds on our property and last year 16, this year we've killed 4. There has been a steady decline in bird numbers over the last years, but the way people choose to hunt birds (tents, fanning etc) has resulted in static numbers. We hunt 4000 acres and go to great lengths to trap and shoot predators, so they are not the problem.

m/albums/ad111/HuntKY/IMG_6924.jpg[/img][/url]

You just told us why you don't have any turkeys.

You expect to kill 42 turkeys off of 4000 acres in 2 years and still have a great population? ??

That's just plain stupid, and to come here and complain about it is just plain damned ignorance.

No, not what I said azzhat. 26 was anomaly, typical year we kill 14-15 birds. Your statement above was pretty stupid seeing how you've never stepped foot on the property....

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Normally, we hold a lot of birds on our property. 2 years ago we killed 26 birds on our property and last year 16, this year we've killed 4. There has been a steady decline in bird numbers over the last years, but the way people choose to hunt birds (tents, fanning etc) has resulted in static numbers. We hunt 4000 acres and go to great lengths to trap and shoot predators, so they are not the problem.

m/albums/ad111/HuntKY/IMG_6924.jpg[/img][/url]

You just told us why you don't have any turkeys.

You expect to kill 42 turkeys off of 4000 acres in 2 years and still have a great population? ??

That's just plain stupid, and to come here and complain about it is just plain damned ignorance.

No, not what I said azzhat. 26 was anomaly, typical year we kill 14-15 birds. Your statement above was pretty stupid seeing how you've never stepped foot on the property....

And you still wonder why you don't have any turkeys? Smdh.

 

[GreyGoose]

This could get interesting ray: op:

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Good habitat can (I think) support 1 bird killed per 150 acres...4000acres/26kills.

Yea in a perfect world were they raise enough to support the population. 2 bad hatches and your screwed. I can show you hundreds of thousands of acres of perfect habitat that doesn't have 42 birds on it all together. They are simply just gone and it took a year to do it. But people weren't killing every dang gobbler they seen either.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

I don't believe there is 4000 acres in tennessee that can support that kind of harvest year after year after year without a noticeable decline there are to many factors at play.

 

[TheLBLman]

I don't believe there is 4000 acres in tennessee that can support that kind of harvest year after year after year without a noticeable decline there are to many factors at play.

I'd have to know more about "this" 4000 acres, but I do believe hunters greatly fail to understand how much both deer and turkeys move around OFF their hunting areas, even when you have 4000 acres.

I suspect that with many or most 4000 acre tracts, the majority of the birds do not exclusively live within the boundaries. Even with relatively large tracts, the deer/turkey "management" can be more effected by what's happening around the tract than within it. There may have been even more turkey hunting around this tract than within it.

 

[Andy S.]

I know of a fine hunting club in west TN that annually kills 25-30 male birds and it is 18,000 acres. I can't imagine burning 25+ on a 4,000 acre tract and expecting it to not have some negative impact over the years to come. Turkey hunting and localized turkey populations are kind of like a savings account, if you take from it in small doses it will always serve you, but if you drain it overnight, it most likely won't serve it's intended purpose very long. As volatile and cumbersome as turkey population dynamics are, I'd not recommend much more than a bird every 300-400 acres or so to guarantee a sustainable resource over the years to come. Some areas can exceed this, but most areas cannot over time.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Better be careful because yall will be azzhats to lol

 

[Roost 1]

LBL has less than 100 birds killed annually on 175,000 acres and people say birds not there like they used to be.......Just an example for comparison. 15/year on 4000 acres and you better be having some great hatches. Honestly I'd say a couple great hatches are the reason you were able to kill 26 in one year to start with....I think I would change my management plan.

 

[Andy S.]

I think I would change my management plan.

Ditto, especially if you are managing for a renewable resource over the years to come (e.g. you plan to continue to hunt the same property and have an enjoyable experience).

 

[spitndrum]

Haven't noticed what I feel is a decline in flock in my areas I'm more east tn but when I hunt middle tn they are just as many as I remembered last yr. Season is odd to me weekends have fluctuated from several birds gobbling in roosting areas then the next weekend hardly nothing?

Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk

 

[LanceS4803]

I always go back to the old adage: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

 

[muddyboots]

Wow. I guess we are lucky on my lease. We kill more per acre than yawl are talking about. And we've done it most years for the last 25