Yep a lot of chicken houses with Tyson are popping up here in west Tennessee. I have been thinking that’s exactly what’s going on with these flocks as nothing much else has changed

I was a really proficient turkey hunter the last 4 years. Called in 10+ longboards every year. Have killed a turkey every year since 2003. Killed zero this year and hunted 20+ mornings. Only change was chicken litter was spread last year on hay fields and crop fields. Birds did not exist in those locations. You will not convince me it has no effect.

Are there any small populations of birds that still exist where chicken litter is being regularly applied??.......Ones that may be showing resistance to whatever killed the others..........Their population may have gotten bottle necked down into a predator pit type scenario where it cant get itself out of the hole to regrow the population from the resistant birds.........Just a thought that may or may not be right......If that is correct then I would think you would want to be heavily trapping in areas where there might be resistant populations and like said previously, maybe even shut the season down for a couple years

This isn't my first rodeo with chicken litter. Saw similar results in 2011. Just payed hunting club dues for 5 years. Now a lot of the clubs are like hunting public land.

If you hunt the clay county area of Alabama you might have seen the same results the last 15-20 years

The areas I hunt, I have seen no significant change in the population outside of the normal ebbs and flows based on yearly hatch success. All these speculative theories are just throwing chit at the wall and seeing if anything sticks, and it gives Chuck and the CAB ammo to come up with their ridiculous season and limit reductions.

I understand North AL and TN seem to be experiencing some actual significant population declines. If that is the case and something needs to be done, then keep it limited to North AL. Don't punish the rest of us for a problem that doesn't exist.

We did a scientific survey in this forum a few years ago that proved that chicken litter was having a detrimental effect on turkey populations in AL. I don't think we were the first to do this, but I was the only researcher who wasn't too afraid of the Chicken Mafia to publish the results.

I keep saying that I've noticed no change in the places I hunt other than the expected changes with the habitat. But one thing I don't have is chickens. I think that really is a big problem.

I look at chicken litter effects on turkeys like this.


Do y’all think if they took sewage and sprayed where you eat and what you eat, do you think you’d get sick? Or would you believe it just to have no side effects?



If it didn’t kill or make you sick, would you just seek other places to find things to eat.

I grew up as a kid working in my aunt and uncles chicken houses across the road……They were always real particular about doing this and that to prevent disease outbreaks in their houses. If I had to guess its probably not just chicken litter in general that is causing issues but rather certain batches coming from diseased chicken houses…….Its probably more prevalent in certain types of chicken houses too.

That being said though, I don’t think any solution is likely going to involve them no longer spreading litter………Restocking and repopulating from the remaining stock would seem like the way forward. I mean, that’s where you’re at anyways right??…..repopulating from the remaining pockets of birds.

I know a fella on here that dropped a cough drop at a human sewage dump tank area. Before I knew what he had done he picked up the cough drop and ate it I can tell you later that night and well into the wee hours of the next morning he'd wish he had not done that!! He was one sick fella And no, it was not me.

Grant Woods believes the insecticide coating on seeds might have something to do with it also.

I work in the row crop industry and know of several farmers in my area who use chicken litter on their fields nearly every year. One in particular uses it on every field every year, and I’d say his area and farms have more turkeys than most of the places I work

Have ever given it some thought your farmer might be following proper protocol on applying chicken litter? There is a process the litter should go through and only litter from broiler houses are supposed to be used. I know for a fact that isn’t the case therefore I’m not so naive to believe just because some farmers have birds it isn’t a problem.

I’ve seen first hand what applying chicken litter will do to a solid population. One or both things has the potential to happen. Kill the birds or run them off. One or both happened on a property I use to hunt. One year turkeys everywhere then gone the next. The only thing that changed is applying chicken liter when the farmer use to apply commercial fertilizer. This all happened when we had big ears for a president and fuel along with fertilizer cost significantly increased.

Bacteria is present in the litter. Both E-Coli and Salmonella and it is antibiotic resistant. Leftover feed is in the mix and if turkeys eat the feed then they ingest the bacteria.

I don't think it would be an issue with properly composted litter.

No they don’t. According to those in the Turkey business that’sa big problem. They don’t enforce it apparently and the game and fish can’t fight a billion dollar industry. So there you go.

jlcoffee had some good insight on chicken liter
There’s broiler sand then layers. One has significant more diseases from what I recall. Properly composted should not but I don’t know who checks that.

Still can’t discount hunter harassment and or kills

That’s a factor that no one wants to own.

Heck all you gotta do is interact with a hunter population versus one that is not. There is a difference

Here's the study; Its probably more scientific than the "dominant gobbler" theory that is being used to destroy turkey hunting as we know it.



A Study of the Perceptions of aldeer Turkey Forum Members Regarding the Use of Chicken Litter and Wild Turkey Populations

April 2016

Study Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the perceptions of members of the aldeer turkey forum regarding turkey populations on lands treated with chicken littler and lands not treated with chicken litter. There has been a growing belief among turkey hunters that there is a direct correlation between the increasing use of chicken litter as fertilizer and a decrease in nearby turkey populations. Numbers from the study cannot be extrapolated to the entire state because study participants were not chosen randomly. However, since other research organizations in the state appear unwilling to carry out a study that might anger Alabama's powerful poultry lobby, it is left to the brave Scientists of PCP University to provide valid research in this important area.


Methodology

All visitors to the turkey hunting forum of aldeer from 4/24 til 4/28, 2016, were given the opportunity to participate in the study. Participants were asked if the tracts of land they hunted had turkey populations that were either above normal, normal, below normal, or way below normal, and whether or not each tract was close to land that had been treated with chicken litter. Most participants hunted on more than one tract of land, and each response was recorded separately. It was left up to the participant to determine if chicken littler was close to the tract, and the turkey populations were only the perception of the participant. The participants are known to be avid turkey hunters, though many of these goobers are not able to follow directions at all. When it was seemingly apparent what the participant meant by the response, it was counted even when not in the requested format. When it was unclear what the participant was trying to say, the response was discarded. This is part of the difficulty of being a Scientist dealing with laymen, but the research must go on.


Results

This study proves beyond a shadow of doubt that there is a direct correlation between the use of chicken litter as fertilizer and the decline of wild turkey populations in nearby areas. 79% of the participants who hunted close to areas treated with chicken litter reported turkey populations that were below normal or way below normal. This figure breaks down to 50% reported below normal and 29% way below normal. Only 17% of those hunting near chicken litter reported normal turkey populations, and a mere 4% reported above normal populations.

In contrast, study participants who hunted in areas not treated with chicken litter reported that 69% of the areas hunted had normal or above normal turkey populations. This broke down to 53% perceiving normal populations, and 16% that were above normal. Respondents from untreated areas reported 21% of areas below normal and 10% way below normal.

The study found that 76% of the hunters reported their hunting being in areas free of chicken litter, while 24% said their areas were contaminated with chicken litter. Combining all responses, participants reported that 57% of the state is either normal or above normal. It is critical to note that a full 19% of the state is experiencing a decline in turkey numbers due to the use of chicken litter.


Conclusions

This study indicates that some declines in turkey population in AL can be blamed on chicken litter. The state should take immediate steps to put a stop to this toxic practice and pass laws requiring chicken manure to be burned on site. Hunters should become more politically active in demanding these changes. PCP University will be happy to provide scientific support; for a small fee, of course. We will conduct any study you want and guarantee the results you want in advance. Anyone quoting this study should refer to its publication in the "Scientific Journal of PCP University". It is in the April, 2016 edition.

About Us

PCP University is an organization with many branches. Our Wild Turkey Research Unit exists solely for the purpose of trying to keep the eggheads from ruining our turkey hunting history and culture. We believe, as did Charles Kelley, that the key to abundant wildlife is to give landowners the incentive to manage their land for wildlife, knowing that they will have the opportunity to reap the rewards for their hard work. The idea that you can regulate your way to more turkeys is a fallacy that we will continue to fight.

End of study

Yup I used to argue about chicken litter a lot back then. Still concerned with it. I just think there are other factors too.

I don’t think there’s one reason but more of a culmination of. One thing leads to another.

PCP, April 2016. It seems like that study was just a couple of years ago. As accurate as any other study or more so, I might add!

It could be, and likely is, a matter of compounding factors……Chicken litter could be knocking the population back to lower levels where hunter density then begins to have a bigger influence on reproductive success……and bada bing bada boom….big decline