Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk ALTurkey Talk -- Beards and Spurs Poults

Sweet!

Haven't seen them here yet.

Saw hen with a dozen in Northern Jackson county yesterday morning.

Seen two different hens with poults in Dallas county.

I saw a hen Saturday (5/2) with 15 poults that looked to be a couple of days old. Forest Home (Butler County) area. That would have put her setting her nest around opening day, earliest I have seen.

More in North Jackson.

Some today n Lamar Co

Saw a hen 6 Monday while hunting

The dip sticks at the state really know what they are doing with the timing of our seasons.

For what they were wanting to do, they timed it perfectly in my area this year.

Hope this recent rain and cold snap wasn’t too hard on them 😬

I’m afraid we’re gonna see an impact from this in 2 years. If you have a pile of turkeys already, you probably won’t even notice unless you really pay attention. If you have a low population, you’ll definitely know it, if it happens. I hope I’m wrong.

Hopefully it too early to make a big difference…..According to the study data peak nesting in Alabama occurs from April 20-30 with poults hatching almost exactly 28 days later …….Even if we back that up to April 10 to catch the front part of bell curve then that puts peak hatching from May 8-28…….Mid to late May and early June should be the worst times for any bad temp and rain events

If you go back and look at two years ago we had several significant rain events in May and June and still had a boomer year this season ………I kinda think it has to be more than just rain to get them…..you probably need some abnormally low temps to go along with it to be significant……If rain is gonna make a big difference then next year we ought to see it happen……

https://www.al.com/weather/2025/05/may-2025-rain-ranks-in-top-10-for-several-alabama-cities.html

I think a turkey hen is probably pretty equipped to take care of her poults through anything but just the worst scenario conditions……I mean turkeys exist all over the United States dealing with a lot tougher “cold” conditions than we deal with in the deep south………Here’s how I do think some die though due to rain events and hypothermia…….

We know now…..or we will shortly when they release some of the newest studies……that hens are being heavily preyed upon during nesting in certain habitats……So as we sit here today on May 7, hens have been on the ground already for nearly a month…..and just like with fawns, coyotes are gonna be actively seeking the current hot food source…….That means that by the time poults start hatching the yotes are in full effect with their targeting of “sitting” hens.

What happened last night was that we went from a prolonged period of really dry conditions where scenting and hunting would have been tough for a dog…….to suddenly big storms rolled through…..soaked down the landscape (and the hens)…… and then moved on until the next storm rolled though………leaving ideal hunting conditions between showers……That would have basically been like turning on the bite for the yotes…..They were likely heavily hunting between rain showers last night

Now, every hen they came across that was sitting there protecting her poults probably lost her clutch if they got busted up and weren’t able to get back together before the next shower came through……I think that’s how they are actually dying from hypothermia in Alabama if its occurring……..not just simply from some spring rains rolling through......but from predators keeping mama from being able to do her job.

Were folks seeing poults during that timeframe with developed features and not down? And did it get cold during that timeframe you’re referring to? I started seeing poults in that stage late April and others started seeing them during that same timeframe this year. We got rains and temps in the 40s for a few days during that time, as well this year. Hopefully, it won’t have an effect on survival. Will be interesting to see how it pans out in 2 years.

It doesn’t appear so……Looks like the lowest temps for the month in the central part of the state were in the upper 50’s……Just record rain totals for a lot of areas

Key Notes for May 2025:
• Excessive Rainfall: Many areas received over 200% of their average May rainfall.
• Statewide Impact: A large portion of the state saw 10–15 inches of rain, with 15–20 inches in some areas.
• Daily Records: Intense,, concentrated storms occurred, such as 9.27 inches in Fayette on May 13.
• Context: This was the wettest May on record for Alabama since 1895, averaging 10.07 inches statewide

If we’ve had poults for two weeks in North Jackson surely yall down in the middle got a lot hatched out.

I was referring to the two years ago(2024) timeframe that you had referred to.

Hold up……I think I quoted this one wrong……Its supposed to be peak nesting from April 10 -20……….That would give you front end outliers starting to nest in late March/early April......