Download Muse Turkey Talk

Rio Grande Wild Turkey
Biology & Management
Andy James, Extension Assistant
September 2014
Overview
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Introduction
Life History
Biology
Management
Introduction
• History
– In the late 1800s, hunting greatly reduced
RGWT numbers.
– By 1920, much of the population was
extirpated over its original range.
– Approximately 100,000 birds left in Texas,
primarily in the Edwards Plateau and South
Texas Plains.
Introduction
• History
– Through harvest restrictions and restoration
efforts, RGWT rebounded across Texas and
U.S.
– Restoration primarily by trapping and
transplanting birds.
– Turkeys in the Edwards Plateau were not
immune to population declines as numbers
have been decreasing since the 1970s.
Possible Reasons for Decrease
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Reproductive issues
Land fragmentation
Increase in brush canopy
Decrease in vegetative cover
Feathers
• 5,000-6,000
feathers
• 4 molts
• Different coloration
between males and
females
Physical Characteristics
• Males
• Larger
• 17-21 lbs
• Females
• Smaller
• 8-11 lbs
Life History–Physical Characteristics
Life History–Physical Characteristics
Female
Male
Life History–Physical Characteristics
Adult
Jake
Life History–Physical Characteristics
Poults
– Weight - a few ounces
– natal down
Life History–Physical Characteristics
Poults
– Down replaced by 14 days
Movement
• Turkeys move up to 2 mi/hr in search of food
• Direction is random, but driven by food availability
• Spring – bred hens move independently from nonbred hens
• Summer – gobblers move separate from juvenile
males and non-breeding females
• Late-summer – brood flocks form
• Winter - males join flock
Movement
• From winter roosts, turkeys move ~ 2 mi searching
for food
• In spring, search for nesting and brooding cover
– Usually within 2 miles of roost
– Some have been documented moving up to 27 miles
Pre-Nesting
• Strutting display on gobbling grounds
• Copulation
• Nest sites
– Grass clumps
– Brush piles
• Shallow
depression
• Lays 8-16 eggs
Nesting
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Nesting
Eggs cream / tan with speckles
Incubation begins when last egg is laid
Lays 8-16 eggs
Incubation takes ~ 28 days
Nesting
• Edwards Plateau
– In grass ~18 inches
tall
• Rolling Plains
– Vegetation near
roadways
– Low brush
important for
poults
Nesting
• Reproduction and recruitment are highly important
– Percent hens nesting and re-nesting
– Nest success (clutch hatched out)
– Poult survival
Nesting
Reproductive success dependant on
– Rainfall
• Cumulative over the year not individual rain events
• Winter rainfall better predictor than spring rains
– Range condition
– Body condition of individual hens
Survival
Rolling Plans
– Males; juvenile 59%; adult males 36%
• Most mortality in the spring
Predation Effects on Nests
Predation Effects on Nests
• Raccoon and grey foxes were the most
common nest predators
• Sometimes more than 1 predator depredates
a nest
• Occasionally a hen will resume nesting if
some eggs remain
Management Considerations and
Planning
• Outlines a plan of action to
enhance wildlife and habitat
resources
Usable Space
• Diversity is essential
Benefits of Prescribed Burning
RGWTs can benefit from prescribed burning
– best in the fall and winter
– stimulates forbs, which produce seeds and green foliage
– beneficial for invertebrates
Prescribed Burning
Caution: spring and early summer might
destroy nests and kill poults
Turkey Diets
RGWTs have broad diets
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Green foliage
Seeds from grasses and forbs
Mast
Animal matter
Content varies seasonally
Shallow Disking
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Disk in January - March
Plow, 2-4 inches deep to break soil
Narrow strips ~ 20 ft wide
Place close to cover
Disk strips in alternate years
Roosting Trees
Large trees with many horizontal branches and broad
crowns
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Pecan
Cottonwood
Oaks
Hackberry
Elm
Roosting Trees
Roost trees should be protected from heavy brush
encroachment
Roosting Trees
• If brush treatments are required, consider
– Timing of treatment
• Late spring or early summer; when leaving winter
roosts
• Midday while turkeys are foraging
• Avoid roost disturbance; quickly get in & get out
– Density of encroaching brush species
– Types of treatment
• Mechanical
• Chemical
• Stem treatment
Roosting Trees
• Mechanical treatment
– Use depends on stem density
– Pro: instant gratification to brush person
– Pro: no chance of killing roost tree with herbicide
– Con: noisy and invasive
– Con: does not kill most brush species
• Recommend taking only a small percentage of
brush and gauge turkey response
Roosting Trees
• Chemical Treatments – basal stem
– Pro: quiet as compared to mechanical treatment
– Pro: precisely control which plants to kill
– Pro: brush dies over 12-18 months; mimics natural
plant mortality
– Con: if tebuthiuron, or hexazinone are used it
WILL KILL the roost tree
• Recommend 15-25% mix of triclopyr in diesel
for selective brush treatment
Roosting Trees
• Chemical Treatments – cut-stump
– Pro: quiet as compared to mechanical treatment
– Pro: precisely control which plants to kill
– Pro: instant gratification given top removal
– Con: if tebuthiuron, or hexazinone are used it
WILL KILL the roost tree
• Recommend 20-25% mix of triclopyr in diesel
for selective brush treatment
– Apply immediately to fresh cut stump
Roosting Cover
When natural roosts do not
exist or are limited
- Artificial sites can be
built
- Set horizontal boards
between two poles
- Approximately 20 ft
high
- Leaving 3 feet
between the boards
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