A turkey tale...

[ultrastealth]

We purchased our ranch about 30 years ago near Camp Wood on the Western edge of the Edwards Plateau. The original ranch was 600 acres, and we added an adjacent 330 acre tract about 6 years ago. It would be considered semi-arid, and the elevation is at about 2000 feet. We sit on a plateau on top of a plateau, and the weather is markedly dryer and cooler than down along the Nueces River at Camp Wood. There was no natural water on the original 600 acres, but there was one well, and we drilled another and added six cattle troughs. There are three springs and a solar well on the 330. For the first 10 years, we didn't run corn feeders year round. We rarely saw a single turkey early on. Occasionally a hen would wonder through, and we did find one nest. We built a platform and put a demand milo feeder on it for turkeys, but they never used it. Our original TP&W biologist said that there was no real reason that we wouldn't have turkeys. I'm an avid spring turkey hunter, so, over all, it was disappointing. About ten or so years ago, I put up a spin feeder with milo to run all spring and summer, and I started keeping about four other feeders running year round with corn/milo. With the addition of the 330 acres, we had more water sources. We started seeing turkeys in the spring, barely huntable numbers. About five years ago, we started spreading milo on the roads in the spring and summer. We started seeing more turkeys, but they were always gone by September. Rarely did they roost on the property. Last year, I started snaring and trapping hogs, coons, foxes, coyotes and other small predators intensely to help with poult survival. Our new biologist suggested establishing ground-level water to allow hens to wet their breast feathers when they were nesting. We did this and cameras showed them using it. This is the first fall that we have groups of turkeys still around, roosting on the property, and utilizing corn feeders, and this has been a very low rainfall year for us. It's really encouraging that you can do things that make a tangible difference with regard to turkeys. I can't wait for spring (we won't hunt them in the fall).

[simek]

Keep up the good work. Glad to see more collaboration between TPW and private landowners.

[DUKFVR]

Congrats! We have learned the same thing on our places. Change things up & manage the resources & sometimes it all comes together! Keep up the Great work!

[BigJimmyRustler]

Neat story and sounds like a ton of hard work is going to pay off, meanwhile at our place in Hamilton county and have more of them than we know what to do with lol

[texan16]

Thats some good stuff man. Water and corn/milo will help to keep them around for sure. I think the most important thing is getting rid of the coons, fox, and yotes. Congrats on seeing some benefits from your time and effort.

[RifleBowPistol]

Typically if you have some decent sized trees and water, you should have turkey. With those three springs, I would really expect there to be turkey in the area. They do seem to have areas they stay year round, then start covering larger areas in the spring. If you have plenty of large oak trees, I would expect them to hang around much of the year.

I know on the other side of the county, where we used to live, we rarely saw turkeys, except for the spring time. But there were two areas not far from us, that you could always drive through those areas, and see lots of turkey. Both of those areas, had one small creek, in the general area. There was a creek in the area, where we lived also. It's like they don't travel far from where they were born. I tried to attract turkey to where we were, it took multiple years, but I would eventually get them to show up every spring. Occasionally I would see them in the winter or find their tracks in the creek bottom, during the winter. I would see them often in the spring.

Where we are now, there are some small ponds in the area. Then there are some creeks a mile or so away. Then a river a few miles away. Down towards the river, you definitely see a lot more turkey.

I was very happey to see a large group of young turkeys, this past spring or early summer. I got pictures of at least 39 turkeys. Two hens and a whole bunch of young ones. Hopefully they hang out in the area more often, but it does not seem that way. We had two hens hanging out in the area, during late winter and spring. One or both had some chicks. I have not seen any of them since early summer. I have had the feeder running constantly. I guess, the water in the area, was not to their liking, or something.

Sounds like you are getting them figured out, hopefully you will have a lot of turkey, around your place in a few years and long into the future.