Gobbler Nation

decoykrvr wrote:We had two large dead ashes cut adjacent to our front hay field a few weeks ago and my brother and I were dragging out the logs when he drove the tractor and straddled a hen w/12, 2 day old poults. I jumped down and began catching poults while the frantic hen called to her brood and ran about assembling them. I was moving toward the hen w/ two pipping poults in my hands when she jumped on me and began flogging me. I got the poults down with the rest of her brood and she led them all off down the tree lined farm lane. The hen had nested in some high Johnson grass next to our barn and brought off 12 poults from a clutch of 14 eggs. Those poults will have a better chance of survival w/ a gutsy hen like that for a mother. The hen was doing the "broken wing" act, trying to attract us away from her brood when she reacted to the calls of the two poults which I had caught from under the tractor, and immediately charged and jumped on me with flailing wings and feet. Whenever possible, we walk all of our hay fields prior to cutting w/ a 50' flush drag between us (a 55' rope w/ 4" sections of 2" PVC pipe spaced every 10' ). We then mark the nest w/ cane poles tipped w/ surveyors tape and mow a 25'-30' circle around the nest. Over the years our flush drag has saved a lot of turkey nests and fawns.

decoykrvr wrote: ↑June 11th, 2019, 6:01 pm We had two large dead ashes cut adjacent to our front hay field a few weeks ago and my brother and I were dragging out the logs when he drove the tractor and straddled a hen w/12, 2 day old poults. I jumped down and began catching poults while the frantic hen called to her brood and ran about assembling them. I was moving toward the hen w/ two pipping poults in my hands when she jumped on me and began flogging me. I got the poults down with the rest of her brood and she led them all off down the tree lined farm lane. The hen had nested in some high Johnson grass next to our barn and brought off 12 poults from a clutch of 14 eggs. Those poults will have a better chance of survival w/ a gutsy hen like that for a mother. The hen was doing the "broken wing" act, trying to attract us away from her brood when she reacted to the calls of the two poults which I had caught from under the tractor, and immediately charged and jumped on me with flailing wings and feet. Whenever possible, we walk all of our hay fields prior to cutting w/ a 50' flush drag between us (a 55' rope w/ 4" sections of 2" PVC pipe spaced every 10' ). We then mark the nest w/ cane poles tipped w/ surveyors tape and mow a 25'-30' circle around the nest. Over the years our flush drag has saved a lot of turkey nests and fawns.

hoobilly wrote: ↑June 13th, 2019, 12:02 am

decoykrvr wrote: ↑June 11th, 2019, 6:01 pm We had two large dead ashes cut adjacent to our front hay field a few weeks ago and my brother and I were dragging out the logs when he drove the tractor and straddled a hen w/12, 2 day old poults. I jumped down and began catching poults while the frantic hen called to her brood and ran about assembling them. I was moving toward the hen w/ two pipping poults in my hands when she jumped on me and began flogging me. I got the poults down with the rest of her brood and she led them all off down the tree lined farm lane. The hen had nested in some high Johnson grass next to our barn and brought off 12 poults from a clutch of 14 eggs. Those poults will have a better chance of survival w/ a gutsy hen like that for a mother. The hen was doing the "broken wing" act, trying to attract us away from her brood when she reacted to the calls of the two poults which I had caught from under the tractor, and immediately charged and jumped on me with flailing wings and feet. Whenever possible, we walk all of our hay fields prior to cutting w/ a 50' flush drag between us (a 55' rope w/ 4" sections of 2" PVC pipe spaced every 10' ). We then mark the nest w/ cane poles tipped w/ surveyors tape and mow a 25'-30' circle around the nest. Over the years our flush drag has saved a lot of turkey nests and fawns.

I have never seen a hen do the broke wing dance. I hope to see that in person some day . anything like how a killdeer does it???

Shiloh wrote: ↑June 14th, 2019, 1:27 pm Exactly like kill deer

ICDEDTURKES wrote: ↑June 16th, 2019, 7:10 pm Weird just saw a mixed flock 30