Gobbler Nation

I've been feeding the deer at my house every day for 27 years and every now & then some turkeys show up, but it is just a few birds and they usually don't stick around for long for some reason. About 3 weeks ago, I saw an adult hen turkey with a few poults in the woods passing through on the other side of the creek. I cracked some corn and scattered it in the same area I saw the turkeys. Well, they found it a few days later and have been coming to eat every day since. I bought some scratch grains and have scattered it in a wider area. Today I saw a flock of 3 adult hens, 2 jennys, and 13 or 14 poults there eating (!!!). I'm absolutely thrilled to have so many youngsters survive and look forward to watching them grow. It is not legal to hunt here, so it will be all about helping them prosper. I can't wait to see what I can capture with the camera. It doesn't hurt my feelings to get to see turkeys every day either.

Jim

nothing wrong with helping them take up residence!

nothing better than having them move in and flourish

That is really neat. You are the deer/turkey whisperer, Jim!

Jim .. you're lucky to even have some to watch & grow

Food is the secret to keeping any animal around, should stay close if you keep buying them breakfast.

I’m jealous. Been there, done that, wish I could do it again.

I had a very isolated flock that lived behind me in Illinois that I got to watch for three years before I moved. There was a huge live oak tree in my front yard that the deer were never bold enough to get to (I lived in a neighborhood that backed up to a flood plain) and one of the old hens would lead that group into my front yard every February when they showed up. I’d feed them for a few months during that time period.

They were very much wild though and watching them for all that time and seeing the flock dynamics ebb and flow was very rewarding to me. There’s nothing like watching turkeys out the window while you take a shower or drink your coffee.

The biggest the group ever got was 4 gobblers 5 jakes and 14 hens. When it showed up it consisted of 3 gobblers, 4 jakes and 6 hens. Fairly sure I watched the same dominant trio of gobblers all three years (one had a double beard). The day the 4th gobbler showed up was very tense.

My advice is to give them a some quality seed to scratch for every now and then and they will keep you very happy. I wouldn’t use anything labeled “wild bird food” because it’s toxins are too high and corn will turn deadly with rain and mold.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the responses. Being able to keep feed on the ground appears like its going to be the tricky part. Those turkeys are making the woods appear like somebody's been in there running a high-powered weed eater with a full tank of gas. It is absolutely shredded.

It looks like I've got to replace my trail camera that flooded last year so I can share some of what I'm seeing.

Jim

I'd love to have wild birds to watch daily.

Finally had them come across the creek where I could get a picture. I bought a quality trail camera a few days ago, but I've been so busy with work & rebuilding a dirt bike that I haven't had time to open the package. I'm now waiting on bike parts to arrive & I had a job postpone, so here they go. There's 7-8 more not in the picture.

Jim

Bet yer' gonna have a population explosion next year

You may change your mind and do "selective: culling

Back when we moved here I awoke one morning at daybreak and heard the most awful squalling in my back yard. Looked out and it resembled a small mature tom that couldn't even gobble. I vowed to get it out of the gene pool, but never saw it again .. thank goodness !!!

Finally got the trail camera up & running.
Jim