Turkey Patterns

negirl · 04-21-2010, 09:49 AM

Do turkeys typically feed/drink/mate at specific times of day? Also, once they find a hen, how long do they stick with her.
Thanks...

Pygmy · 04-21-2010, 01:13 PM

Spring gobbler behavior is similar to human behavior..

The GIRLS call all the shots....

...

Since I have never hunted in arid areas, water is not a big issue..Places I have hunted water is everywhere...

Generally turkeys will fly down from the roost and go to food...The hens feed, and the gobblers follow and strut... They are only interested in one thing, and it's not feeding..

Somewhere between flying down and having breakfast, mating often occurs... After breakfast, the hens will often try to LOSE thier attentative suitor so they can sneak off and lay an egg..

A gobbler will stay with a breeding hen as long as she is receptive.. When she is ready to start incubating eggs, SHE will pull the plug on the relationship and leave the gobbler, who will immediately try to find ANOTHER receptive hen or hens..

negirl · 04-21-2010, 01:25 PM

That's for that information-very helpful.
I think you're right-much like human interactions.

Jackson Bowner · 04-21-2010, 02:15 PM

I have found that in my area, this time of year, the turks roost in the same general area every night...often the same trees. But our woodlots are not huge and food sources are abundant. During the spring mating period they will peck in the woods for 45 min-an hour then head for the fields. Most of the water they need is in the plants and bugs they eat here and I have never seen them go to water (although they do seem to like to roost near water, particularly streams or rivers). Once the actual breeding begins, the hens will usually be bred in late morning to early afternoon and they will go to their nest late morning to early afternoon almost like clockwork. At the peak of the breeding, the hens may all be off to their nest laying eggs and that (in my opinion) is the best time to be in the woods calling because the Toms will be most receptive to responding to the call. My most productive time period for kills is between 11am-1pm. Keep in mind that the hens are laying just one egg a day and they may lay 12-16 eggs. She will not sit on them until all her eggs are laid so the chicks all hatch pretty much at the same time. So to summarize, turkeys are really somewhat creatures of habit, as long as they are not harassed and booted out of an area. You can't always hang your hat on predictability, but you can play the odds to your favor.

SwampCollie · 04-21-2010, 04:10 PM

My new year's resolution this year was to talk less... and in that spirit... I'm going to redirect you to a manifesto I put together last spring for the benefit of anybody who is curious or bored. It is a combination of forum posts, online rants and published magazine articles I've written over the last few years. Part of it answers your question directly.

It has been up since before the forum change... so there is alot of web text in it that shouldn't be there, and a few typos I'd like to fix but cannot due to size and length restrictions. There I go getting wordy again.... hope it helps.

Welcome.

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/spec...ing-birds.html

negirl · 04-22-2010, 08:40 AM

This is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing!
PS. I think you should lose that resolution. You've got a lot of info. to share.

negirl · 04-22-2010, 08:50 AM

I am in the middle of your "thoughts on working birds" and just starting thinking about how similar calling these birds is to getting a man. The whole playing hard to get deal is perfect!
I think it also unfortunately may explain why I didn't get the Tom that was 70 yards out last Saturday. I just kept calling away....

SwampCollie · 04-22-2010, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by negirl

I am in the middle of your "thoughts on working birds" and just starting thinking about how similar calling these birds is to getting a man. The whole playing hard to get deal is perfect!
I think it also unfortunately may explain why I didn't get the Tom that was 70 yards out last Saturday. I just kept calling away....

A .22-250 is a nifty trick for that too.

You hit the nail on the head... that bird figured it was a slam dunk and just decided to lean up againest the bar and put the vibe out... there are a heck of a lot of correlations between human interaction and turkey interaction... and it shouldn't be a suprise that some of the better turkey hunters I know are women... they have an automatic advantage in my opinion.

cjgjr · 04-22-2010, 04:17 PM

LOL,
Yes I have to agree what was said already when it comes to turkeys etc.lol.The ladies call all the shots.

As its getting light and turkeys are on the roost the gobblers 1st priority is to meet a lady friend/hen.

Now what happens next is the hen will yelp and attract the gobbler.Then the gobbler will gobble back,or vise versa the gobbler will gobble to attract a hen.

In nature the hen usually always goes to the gobbler.

But when they dont the gobbler comes looking for the hen.
Now,if the hen excepts him,he will be with her following her around etc.

By late morn,they prob already mated,or he got turned down,either way he will be on the prowl for another accepting hen.
Thats what happens during the spring mating season,in the morning hrs.

Hope that helped,
HAVE FUN & GOOD LUCK...