Turkey Winter Kill?

[jtl]

I'm getting excited about turkey season coming up here in a few months and started to wonder how susceptible they are to winter kill? We've had a rough winter so far in parts of Idaho, and I'm thinking about shifting from some of my normal places to areas that weren't hit as hard. I've been seeing them flocked up just standing around in the snow lately, and I can't imagine they are getting much food.

 

[FreeRange]

I know turkey as with most upland birds rely heavily on good water years to produce poults to maturity, so while snow may kill some adult birds off I think we're looking at a good recruitment this spring once poults are one the ground, as long as there's still not a bunch of snow around then which is unlikely. I don't know a ton about the birds in Idaho but a buddy who has a lot of turkey on his property up near Lewiston said he's got more snow on the ground than he's seen in at least the past 10 years and he's only at 3500' I think. I know here in CA the Sierra foothill birds vary their elevation by a lot depending on the weather but those birds have a valley floor they can get down to where snow never accumulates for long, so in that case heavy snow will yield more birds next year I'm thinking.

 

[Jimss]

A lot depends upon food availability, source, and quantity. Obviously if the turkey's food is under a foot of snow they will likely have pretty heavy winterkill. If there is 3' of snow and they are feeding in a farmer's feedlot or someone's back yard they likely are obese and will survive! I would doubt areas like California have much winterkill if it's possible for them to move to lower ground where they have less snow and plenty of food. If turkeys winter in an area where they can't wander to areas with adequate food they may be in trouble.

 

[jtl]

Thanks for the input. They definitely aren't getting through the snow where I usually hunt this winter, so I have no idea what they're eating. I imagine some have gotten into pastures where livestock are being fed, but a lot of them seem to just be walking around on 2-3 feet of snow.