turkey management | Turkey Management

Soil Tests Make for Better Turkey Food Plots

Managing for wild turkey takes habitat enhancement, regulated hunting, and providing for all of their daily needs. Habitat must provide food, cover, water and space. One way to provide additional foods for turkey is through food plots. Just make sure you get started on the right foot. Think of it this way: For every successful garden you see, brimming with ripe vegetables, realize that the work started before the seeds went in the ground.

It’s no different for food plots, whether for white-tailed deer or wild turkey. You want to start with one of the most important components of a food plot, soil. Plan on evaluationg the soil before moving forward with developing your turkey food plot.

Why is a soil test a good idea? First, the test is simple and inexpensive. Soil sample kits are readily available from your county extension office or the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) office. They usually cost $10 or less. You can also find them online from private companies. Continue reading Soil Tests Make for Better Turkey Food Plots

Turkey Hunting, Nesting Could Suffer from Dry Conditions

Will dry weather slow down nesting turkey in Texas?

Continued dry range conditions throughout much of Texas this spring could have a negative impact on wild turkey production and hunting prospects, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologists. If parts of Texas, particular in the south, remain parched there is concern among wildlife officials that Rio Grande turkey breeding activity and nesting effort will be greatly reduced or nonexistent. Since spring turkey hunters rely upon gobbling activity to locate and attract birds, the lack of interest by hens in breeding could make for tough hunting.

Rio Grande spring turkey hunting season opens in the North Zone April 4 and runs through May 17. Special youth-only weekends are set for March 28-29 and May 23-24. The South Zone opens March 21 and runs through May 3, with youth-only weekends set for March 14-15 and May 9-10. A special one-gobbler-only Rio Grande spring season is set for April 1-30 in Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee and Milam counties. The spring eastern turkey season is open in 43 East Texas counties from April 1-30.

TPWD estimates about 88,000 hunters take part in Texas’ spring turkey season and take about 25,000 gobblers. Most of the state’s spring turkey hunting activity occurs in South Texas and in the Hill Country, where TPWD turkey program leader Jason Hardin noted timely rainfall could give the bird population a boost. Continue reading Turkey Hunting, Nesting Could Suffer from Dry Conditions

Creating Food for Turkey Using Food Plots

Turkey Food Plots are Effective

Unless you are a wheat farmer, every landowner or hunter wants to see more wild turkey on their property. The best way to ensure that turkeys flourish on your property is to create high-quality habitat that provides adequate food and cover requirements. A great way to attract and hold turkeys on your land is to clear and maintain wildlife food plots. Creating and retaining forest openings should be an important component of any turkey management program. If your property is comprised of dense woodlands, then first you must create openings within the forested area for plots to be planted.

Forest openings will allow your turkey food plot to receive adequate amounts of sunlight, thrive, and provide supplemental food for your turkey population. Food plots are a good idea because they attract deer and turkey, but more importantly these plots provide supplemental food for game and other species of wildlife. Establishing and maintaining turkey plots can be expensive and, of course, requires some knowledge of planting and the skill in the proper use of farm equipment. Before jumping into a food plot, make sure you take the time to identify the forage species that is best suited for your area.

This is necessary to ensure that your food plot yields the highest results possible. Even with that said, one of the most often overlooked factors of food plots is soil testing and proper seedbed preparation. In addition, make sure that planting depth and nutrient requirements are met. The size of the seed to be planted and soil moisture conditions are two primary considerations before planting your turkey plot. Seedbeds for small-seeded plants such as clovers need to be as smooth and clean as possible. On the other hand, large-seed plants like corn, peas, and beans do not require as neat a seedbed. These robust seeds can literally plow right through the soil and around clods to get sunlight. Continue reading Creating Food for Turkey Using Food Plots