We've been kicking around the idea of buying some wild turkey chicks and eventually releasing them on our property. Anybody have knowledge about doing this? I'm curious about the survival rate and at what age they are ready to be released.
Here in Ohio its against the law but I know a few cases where they did just that and theres a pretty good turkey population up there now. From what ive seen of them after a few weeks they can jump from branch to branch and flap there little wings and can get up off the ground. Good luck I would do it also but where I live theres no travel routes anymore just open farm feilds with woodlots here and there.
Stumpy
Might be good to check with WI DNR. I think they may have a hemorrhage over that plan. ;)
My late landlords/close neighbors did just that, there son in law happened to be the local game warden at the time so :-X :D. We all kind of cooperated in it, think they started out with 15 or so, I've counted as high as 120 lately but they've all spread out to nest now. I'd think by the time you see they can sufficiently escape predators they'd be good to go, however the ones they started with were hand raised long enough not much wild in them. They do spread out in summer but also come back into the yard and clean up around the grain bins and such. We raised some pheasants one year and released them one day while the turkeys were out scrounging around in the yard, it worked pretty well because they would follow the turkeys around until they kind of had an idea what was going on in the outside world.
I know of a few folks in the past that have hatched them, not sure what they did with them, but here too, MDC frowns on it for sure,
We bought some Rio Grande wild turks 7 years ago, and have had several generations hatch out here. I keep them in a big aviary because there are so many predators on my ranch and the loose turks would not last long !A couple of times other wild turks have stalked around the enclosure trying to get in and say howdy. They are wild strain birds but pretty tamed out. Cheers Rob
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/wild_turkeys_1%7E0.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/wild_turkeys_2.jpg)
I forgot about that. Somewheres, ::) I have a picture in the pen of the turkeys we was raising for thanksgiving,the white ones,a wild turkey.
and the end result..... YUM ! 8)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/35190/thanksgiving.jpg)
Slim chance but I would check with your wildlife agency. They might stock some in the area. They used to catch them down this way on a federal installation that made explosives and use them for stocking.
Fish & Game stalked a few birds some years back in my area. This is part of the result. You think that tom's smiling? :)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/33808/image%7E20.jpg)
My hunting partner(the one who owns the land) said he checked with the DNR and they said it was legal. I'll give them a call and double check.
smiley_thumbsup
Hatch, raise and release was never successful here. Mature birds had to be cannon netted and relocated.
Alcranb,got some turkeys there. I might see that many once in a while here. But that many is rare. About ½ hour in one direction that is a common sight. In fact I saw them for years about a ½ hour from me.Than they started to spread up to my area. Not many around this year. We see them in the fields in years past. This year we have not been seeing them. I think I saw 2 last week.
About 30 yrs ago Ontario traded some moose for turkeys,they got established and then they netted some and moved them around.We went from having no turkeys to an abundance of them now.But I have never heard of chicks raised and released here.
Sometimes I see plenty and may go almost a year and not see any. Coyotes are really working on game around here. Never see a groundhog anymore. And let a siren go down the main road on the next holler over and they cut loose.
You might also check with the National Wild Turkey Associaton or whatever is is called.
Last night I talked to a gentleman I know who's a retired biologist from Mass. Fish & Game. I asked him about raising poults to be released. He said save your money, raise them and then eat 'em. The problem with young birds is that even though they have the survival instinct in them they don't have Momma to teach them. That's why they live trap the adults and move them. Like luvmexfood said, just to many things looking to eat them especially coyotes, owls, hawks etc.
Another thing he said is that turkeys are VERY transient birds. You may get lucky and get a few to survive but it's nothing for them to travel as far as 50 miles especially the toms looking for love. So all your time and effort, if successful may go to stocking the neighbor.
None the less, nothing ventured, nothing gained (old saying ;) ). As I type this there's 5 hens and two 20+ lb? class Toms eating under the wife's bird feeder. Magnificent birds to say the least!!!!
Here in Pa. years ago the PGC used to release pen raised wild turkeys, thinking it would start local flocks. They discovered that this method produced diseased birds that were not capable of thriving in the wild.
The PGC then instituted their trap and transfer program , which was very successful in starting flocks which had previously held few or no turkeys. They even trap birds and supply other states looking to enlarge their own flocks
I have had my best luck When it comes to selecting a nice turkey right at the local safeway store, I did get a chance to eat a wild turkey a couple years ago and found it to be mighty tough ....... I suspect that it might be considered quality game but the one I tried was not very tasty or tender and may be about on the same parr as eating a catchers mitt.
Im sure I will give it another try at some point but for now I'm happy with an already cleaned and plucked super market turkey. ;D
I'm surprised at that giant splinter. There are some game birds I could do without. But the wild turkey seem to beat the store bought around here for sure. Maybe its all the farmland and grains etc. Same with my western new york venison. Sweeter than any venison I took up in the high cascades of WA and OR.
I spooked a momma turkey off her nest a few years back and she got real excited. I figured she'd desert her eggs so I robbed her of about 10 warm ones. Did a quick warming and pen set up and had about 50% hatch. 2 survived to feathers, and at about 4 or 5 pounds they got the reign of the yard. That lasted about 2 days...never saw them again!
Oh well...
The reason she got so excited was to lure you away from the nest. I have seen partridge do the broken wing trick,squawking and making all sorts of noise. If you follow her,all at once she is cured and will fly off. That turkey came back and found 10 eggs gone. I bet she was not happy.
Every year my wife and I spend a weekend in Maine. Each time we cross the border we start seeing wild turkeys along the I95 between Houlton and Bangor. We never see them on this side of the border. They must not have their passports!