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Keeping Turkey
Posted on 4/29/25 at 1:54 pm
Posted on 4/29/25 at 1:54 pm
Last deer season was the first time that we have seen turkey on our deer lease. Is there anything I can do to keep them around or attract more? How do I cultivate a habitat that will keep them around? Would love to be able to hunt them one day.
3
Posted on 4/29/25 at 2:02 pm to Hawk7723
It would help to know the basics:
Size of the lease
General location
Timber type
How much open vs timber
Neighbors
In general if you're leasing there's very limited things you can do. Most activities like burning are prohibited by big timber landowners.
But in general the best things you can do are:
Rotational burning
Clover plots
Browntop millet plots
Disking roads and fire lanes
Patch clearcuts for nesting habitat
Predator control (hammer the coons with DP traps).
Size of the lease
General location
Timber type
How much open vs timber
Neighbors
In general if you're leasing there's very limited things you can do. Most activities like burning are prohibited by big timber landowners.
But in general the best things you can do are:
Rotational burning
Clover plots
Browntop millet plots
Disking roads and fire lanes
Patch clearcuts for nesting habitat
Predator control (hammer the coons with DP traps).
Posted on 4/29/25 at 2:11 pm to Hawk7723
Biggest thing is to leave that bush hog at home
That cool day in May or June and you want to go jump on that tractor. Don’t
Grown up roads and grown up food plots are some of the best things there are for poults especially in industrial timberlands where there isn’t much for them to eat
That cool day in May or June and you want to go jump on that tractor. Don’t
Grown up roads and grown up food plots are some of the best things there are for poults especially in industrial timberlands where there isn’t much for them to eat
Posted on 4/29/25 at 2:37 pm to No Colors
1300 acres in SW Arkansas, just inside the state line before Texas. Lots of hardwoods and creeks with the occasional plot of planted pines. No neighbors to fight. Our club has had this lease for almost 30 years. I only got on it about 3 years ago.
I had turkey on camera multiple times last year, but never saw them in person
I had turkey on camera multiple times last year, but never saw them in person
This post was edited on 4/29/25 at 2:39 pm
Posted on 4/29/25 at 3:53 pm to Hawk7723
The advice about the bushog is good. And that relates to deer the same as turkeys. Bushhogging promotes grasses. Disking and burning promote weeds and forbs.
The good news is that the same practices which benefit turkeys also benefit deer, rabbits, quail, butterfies, honey bees, songbirds, etc.
Plant food plots. Go clover wherever you can. Keep as much open ground as you can. Let it grow into heavy cover with weeds and vines. Then burn or disk every 2-3 years. Disk roads and turn rows. If you have a border between hardwoods and pines, thin it back so sunlight hits the ground. Then disk those openings as often as possible. Burn the pines whenever possible. Manage the timber aggressively to keep the timber thin with lots of sunlight reaching the forest floor. (I understand it's a lease and you aren't responsible for the timber).
But in general those are the things that will help your turkey population. Big clearcuts are bad. Closed canopy mature timber is bad. Lots of edge habitat, openings, borders, transition zones, and sunlight. Those are the keys.
And: 1300 acres is absolutely big enough to have resident turkeys that will stay on your property and flourish with the right habitat.
The good news is that the same practices which benefit turkeys also benefit deer, rabbits, quail, butterfies, honey bees, songbirds, etc.
Plant food plots. Go clover wherever you can. Keep as much open ground as you can. Let it grow into heavy cover with weeds and vines. Then burn or disk every 2-3 years. Disk roads and turn rows. If you have a border between hardwoods and pines, thin it back so sunlight hits the ground. Then disk those openings as often as possible. Burn the pines whenever possible. Manage the timber aggressively to keep the timber thin with lots of sunlight reaching the forest floor. (I understand it's a lease and you aren't responsible for the timber).
But in general those are the things that will help your turkey population. Big clearcuts are bad. Closed canopy mature timber is bad. Lots of edge habitat, openings, borders, transition zones, and sunlight. Those are the keys.
And: 1300 acres is absolutely big enough to have resident turkeys that will stay on your property and flourish with the right habitat.
Posted on 4/29/25 at 4:53 pm to Hawk7723
Plant clover and chufa in food plots.
Posted on 4/29/25 at 7:18 pm to No Colors
Tall grass and grains. Thats what any large, land-based bird will feed on year round and use as cover.
Winter wheat and Bahia. Open fields with wood lines and easy accessible trees.
Winter wheat and Bahia. Open fields with wood lines and easy accessible trees.
Posted on 4/29/25 at 10:26 pm to Jack Ruby
The best thing to plant for turkeys is chufa. What comes in second is far behind. Unfortunately chufa is expensive and unless you plant a lot of it the birds will eat it out. As will pigs if they are present.
Posted on 4/29/25 at 11:38 pm to No Colors
quote:
Big clearcuts are bad
Bad for what? I thought he said he wanted turkeys.
It’s what you do after the clear cut that makes the difference.
ETA: Nevermind, I see you recommended patch clearcuts earlier.
This post was edited on 4/29/25 at 11:47 pm
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