3 strutters

came up the railroad yesterday at about 6 p.m in butler co. and saw 3 strutters in a pasture in a triangle about 20-25 yrds apart in full strut,and one had a hen standing with him. about 45 mins. later saw a strutter following 2 hens in strut in montgomery co. whats the deal, late mating, just turkeys being turkeys or what? day after the season it was like you flipped a switch,turkeys just disappeared. havent hardly seen a bird in 2 weeks,now 4 in one afternoon.what say you?

You got it.


Screw all them dang birds.

I second that motion!

Dr. B

All in favor?

I hate 'em.

Kill 'em all

every 1 of 'em

Hens will renest after their first, or even second, nest attempt if it is destroyed (a good likelihood since only 50% of the nests laid into ever hatch!), so they will continue to breed till June of even July. I called up a gobbling bird in late June on year and have seen flightless (< 2 week old) poults in August. Still solidly into breeding season.

It is clearly obvious that the rutt is later than we all thought. The season must be extended.

kinda wondered about the nest loosing gig.just odd how i'll see turkeys in pastures everyday and the they literally disappear until next spring.summer ,fall and winter hardly ever see birds.come spring they are back in the same fields year after year. boy if i was a poacher ,could reek havoc!

Gobbler I know they renest, but don't you think lots of times when you see strutters with hens this late that the hens are just jennies that don't have sense enough to make a nest and walk around laying eggs in the foodplots and in roads?

I always find an egg or two every year laying out in the wide open and I've always just assumed it was a jenny that didn't know what to do with one.

Also, if the breeding was early this year like many people claim, do you think there's a chance of a hen raising 2 broods in one spring? That would be a nice thought.

I'm not educated enough to know if that happens, but that IS a nice thought.

I'm just glad Gobbler is on here to provide a little turkey biology, even if we don't always totally agree with him. I wish this beards and spurs forum didn't go dead on May 1 like it usually does. Too much of the info we have about turkeys is just based on heresay and wives' tales.

This kinda goes along with what was posted above, but my boss told me the he was riding around the other afternoon and saw a group of four hens in one field with a big bunch of poults that were big enough to attempt to fly off, so I would say they were just over two weeks old......He said a half mile up the cove in the next field there were four more hens with no poults and three longbeards walking behind them in a full strut.

I hope they all three have a heat stroke and die.

I missed the rest of the story, where was this?

As the crow flies, just across Skyline Mountain from Jughead's turkey farm

I am more interested in the coordinates of Jugheads turkey farm. Joker grew some good 'erns this year.

its off of I565, got a high fence all the way around it with armed guards 24/7.

Sure would appreciate it if you you guys would knock-off all this talk about Jughead's turkey farm on a public forum - there are folks just trying to have a chance at some of the turkeys he and his guests deem not worthy of killing.

That's some funny stuff. I killed a grand total of ONE turkey on that particular place you're talking about compared to the 4 that you and your son killed. How about you and J.W. leave a few for me....whatcha say pal?

You could prolly come kill 5 on it in 5 trips. BrentM has been there a grand total of one time and killed a bird that had been fooled with by us rookies a dozen times. Someday, I'm gonna be a REAL turkey slayer like all you veterans.

Yall probably killed all the breeding stock and there wont be anymore.

No doubt about it. Nothing to see here....folks need to just move along.

I may have to drive up there one morning next March and let Jugheqd show me how it's done on some sure 'nuff mature gobblers.

Based on what I know, Jennies are only slightly less successful in nesting and raising poults and that is mostly due to lack of experience in nest HIDING and predator evasion experience. They all have an innate knowledge of "how" to do the nesting, laying, etc. No one teaches them that, so they nest and lay normally their first year.

Finding an egg or 2 layed around is nearly always a hen that has had her nest destroyed while she was still laying into it and had nowhere to lay the egg that she HAD to lay that day. You know... sometimes when hunting you HAVE to lay one whether you like it or not Same with a turkey...

There has never, to my knowledge, been a documented turkey that raised 2 broods in one summer. Seems like when they finish laying, incubating, and raising the poults for a month or so all the breeding/laying/nesting instincts are completely turned off. Some other birds like quail will double, or even triple clutch with multiple broods in a summer.