MSU Lab: Aflatoxin's at feed stations

[Gut_Pile]

This is posted over in the deer hunting section, but thought it would be good to have here as well.

Interesting data

 

[buckpasser]

This is posted over in the deer hunting section, but thought it would be good to have here as well.

Interesting data

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View attachment 1095493

Legalizing baiting was a good idea why again?

 

[XIronheadX]

Legalizing baiting was a good idea why again?

To poison small feathered things.

 

[Gut_Pile]

Not disagreeing with the baiting argument, just a few devils advocate questions.

How long have folks put out corn for deer in the summer for pre season scouting before baiting was made legal?

MSU says aflatoxins have been found in soybeans, rice, and wheat. Both in feeders and cut fields. Should we also stop planting corn, soybeans, and wheat?

What keeps turkey populations in states where baiting has been legal for as long as I can remember stable and not others?

 

[XIronheadX]

Not disagreeing with the baiting argument, just a few devils advocate questions.

How long have folks put out corn for deer in the summer for pre season scouting before baiting was made legal?

MSU says aflatoxins have been found in soybeans, rice, and wheat. Both in feeders and cut fields. Should we also stop planting corn, soybeans, and wheat?

What keeps turkey populations in states where baiting has been legal for as long as I can remember stable and not others?

Turkeys are pretty good size by preseason scouting time for the normal hatch. And concentrated and contaminated ground fed sites would be the worst. First thing the biologist said that visited our neck of the woods was "if you must feed, get it off the ground".

It's all part of the equation. Some states are showing data such as this. Others the increase in out of state license sales and pressure for southern states. It all adds up somewhere.

Neither are in our equation. No turkey problems.

 

[twoheartedale]

Every turkey in South Carolina would have died years ago if this was a major issue.

 

[buckpasser]

Baiting is a bad idea to me (stationary feed stations) unless one is super particular about the placement of the feeder, before we ever get into alpahtoxin. I’ve seen flocks take a major dive once they zeroed in on spin feeders. At the time I blamed it on predation mostly and still think it matters if they’re in the woods or close to some decent coyote/bobcat hiding cover. My point was that there really isn’t a bright side to it.

 

[buckpasser]

BTW, I do supplementally feed the turkeys I manage, but it’s on a course much as a quail plantation might apply it. I only place it on very open cover types and it’s a long and random placement to keep the few large predators we have guessing. Seems to be really working well.

 

[Turkeytider]

Legalizing baiting was a good idea why again?

Right there with you on this one, buckpasser. This stuff is bad news, I’m telling you. Back in school, and that was in the 70’s, the research that was underway in our microbiology department at Alabama showed just how toxic aflatoxin is to animals. It destroys the liver. It’s not the only negative factor impacting our birds but when you consider how prevalent baiting is, you can’t make me believe it’s not killing turkeys.

 

[Turkeytider]

Not disagreeing with the baiting argument, just a few devils advocate questions.

How long have folks put out corn for deer in the summer for pre season scouting before baiting was made legal?

MSU says aflatoxins have been found in soybeans, rice, and wheat. Both in feeders and cut fields. Should we also stop planting corn, soybeans, and wheat?

What keeps turkey populations in states where baiting has been legal for as long as I can remember stable and not others?

Not necessarily uninteresting questions mind, but it is an established scientific fact that the fungus that produces aflatoxin, Aspergillus flavus, is ubiquitous in nature, and that aflatoxin is a potent liver toxin.