Turkey decline

[antharper]

If it was disease wouldn’t us that are in the woods year round find more dead turkeys ? I’m not saying it’s not part of the problem , but I spend a awful lot of time in the woods and in my 40 years of tromping around I’ve found very few . And I know a dead turkey in the woods doesn’t last long but feathers last a good while .

 

[C.Killmaster]

this could be part of the problem ! i took these pics of a turkey shot this season, UGLY for sure !View attachment 1086833

That looks more like avian pox than blackhead.

 

[tr21]

That looks more like avian pox than blackhead.

your right thats what my buddy said it was. the guy who shot it said blackhead !

 

[tr21]

i should of borrowed his book and studied it some !

 

[herb mcclure]

yes we believe it is blackhead disease

I too believe you are on to something, which could be the culprit for our turkeys decline. Because, like I have said, no one other shoe fits all areas, but blackhead or avian pox knows no bounders of different habitats.

 

[tr21]

dont know what caused it but we went from turkeys everywhere to almost nothing in 1 year ! normally you can pull up to any gate and hear a gobble in the morning, this year you were lucky to hear one anywhere and i spent 2 months out there ! there weren't even any strut marks and the chuffa went untouched. talking to Michael Waddell he noticed the same

 

[sea trout]

If it was disease wouldn’t us that are in the woods year round find more dead turkeys ? I’m not saying it’s not part of the problem , but I spend a awful lot of time in the woods and in my 40 years of tromping around I’ve found very few . And I know a dead turkey in the woods doesn’t last long but feathers last a good while .

And that is a great question ant, to which there's not any material to study. It's like I think, to every problem came up with there's a contradiction somewhere.
I think tr21 said the weird disease lookin bird in his pick was killed on wma no where near chicken poo.
I don't think any of it makes sense. It's like a mystery!!

 

[antharper]

And that is a great question ant, to which there's not any material to study. It's like I think, to every problem came up with there's a contradiction somewhere.
I think tr21 said the weird disease lookin bird in his pick was killed on wma no where near chicken poo.
I don't think any of it makes sense. It's like a mystery!!

The sick turkey was killed a few miles from where I hunt . And if I tried hard I could of probably killed my limit 3 times on 200 acres . Who knows

 

[sea trout]

The sick turkey was killed a few miles from where I hunt . And if I tried hard I could of probably killed my limit 3 times on 200 acres . Who knows

Are you SURE you don't mean "if you could shoot straight" you could kill yer limit 3 times???

 

[buckpasser]

If it was disease wouldn’t us that are in the woods year round find more dead turkeys ? I’m not saying it’s not part of the problem , but I spend a awful lot of time in the woods and in my 40 years of tromping around I’ve found very few . And I know a dead turkey in the woods doesn’t last long but feathers last a good while .

Turkeys die in the woods all the time. How often have you found a carcass? I’m in the woods everyday and rarely find them, wood ducks, quail, doves, rabbits, squirrels or even whole deer unless I see buzzards. That doesn’t mean they aren’t dying, because they certainly are.

 

[Gaswamp]

I agree! And as I said in Video...I don't know! I don't think " they" know! And I suspect chicken litter...but I would love to see hard research on it. However, chicken industry is huge...and connected. I doubt we ever see a research study on it. Until we know..all we can do is provide best habitat $$ will allow. And lower predator numbers. And I know its not popular...but I believe deer baiting being legal plays a role. It concentrates turkeys...and predators. Thank you for commenting!

Baiting is also a problem for increasing wild hogs

 

[spencer12]

If it was disease wouldn’t us that are in the woods year round find more dead turkeys ? I’m not saying it’s not part of the problem , but I spend a awful lot of time in the woods and in my 40 years of tromping around I’ve found very few . And I know a dead turkey in the woods doesn’t last long but feathers last a good while .

That’s a good point, I’ve personally never seen one.

 

[buckpasser]

That’s a good point, I’ve personally never seen one.

I found a dead Tom once. There were only a few bones and most of the long fan feathers. Not sure where they went, but if I hadn’t walked right over it I would never noticed, and it was a fresh kill.

Also, I’ve had 194 chickens robbed from my property over the years and never found their carcasses either.

 

[XIronheadX]

Killed them opening weekend, and the feathers still be laying around the truck parking spot in May. But, its been ages since I found more than a feather at a time in the woods. I think its aliens sucking them up.

Eaten poults don't have many feathers.

 

[saltysenior]

dont know what caused it but we went from turkeys everywhere to almost nothing in 1 year ! normally you can pull up to any gate and hear a gobble in the morning, this year you were lucky to hear one anywhere and i spent 2 months out there ! there weren't even any strut marks and the chuffa went untouched. talking to Michael Waddell he noticed the same

many have seen large populations almost disappear suddenly......only thing that causes that is disease......if it can wipe out large flocks, it certainly can have the same effect on smaller populations .....

 

[spencer12]

That looks more like avian pox than blackhead.

Curious, is avian pox known to infect wild populations of birds without interaction with domestic poultry? I’ve done little research on it but most of what I’ve read states that turkeys can mainly survive this viral infection.

 

[dixiecutter]

Your farm looks like a pine thicket OP

 

[XIronheadX]

New clearcuts, and select cut pines a mile or two away, can make them pack up and leave paradise a while too.

 

[Buckman18]

Eaten poults don't have many feathers.

This. And egg yolks don't either.

 

[C.Killmaster]

Curious, is avian pox known to infect wild populations of birds without interaction with domestic poultry? I’ve done little research on it but most of what I’ve read states that turkeys can mainly survive this viral infection.

Avian pox can be a pretty significant issue for wild turkeys. They don't have to interact with domestic poultry, song birds will often be the link between chicken houses and other wild birds like turkeys. In the case of viruses domestic poultry tend to pick them up from wild birds, not the other way around.

Waterfowl have a major role in avian flu for domestic chickens. It spreads in migratory birds, then an infected bird lands in a pond near a chicken house, that bird craps out some virus on the bank, the farm hand steps in the crap and then walks in the chicken house.