Attracting turkeys

[dbender]

What is the best seed to attract turkeys this time of year that deer won't eat in a night or won't germinate within a few days? In Ga.

 

[Dexter Grayson]

Cracked corn.

 

[dbender]

This time of year, deer will camp out on cracked corn. I've burned several sections and plowed others, but need something more to try and get them visiting

 

[Fowl Play]

Look up Durana Clover or Chufa. Chufa will get destroyed by hogs if you have them in the area. Clover is a good bet as they'll eat it as well as the bugs it attracts.

https://www.pennington.com/all-products/wildlife/durana-clover

 

[dbender]

I've got wheat planted, they have plenty for spring and early summer. I need something quick now to draw them off the neighbors and hopefully get a few to nest and raise on my property.

 

[Scottf270]

A guy once told me he used bird seed.

 

[Carr5vols]

Feed corn to cattle. Cattle will defecate it. Turkeys will teat it up. Deer will not.

 

[JBrew]

I'd be looking at improving habitat, vs throwing out a few bait piles. 9 times out of 10, it all looks great until they get into their spring mode and relocate to the next farm(s) over. They don't care what food you have, if it's not where they need/want to be.

 

[Dexter Grayson]

This time of year, deer will camp out on cracked corn. I've burned several sections and plowed others, but need something more to try and get them visiting

They might camp out on it, but they can’t clean it up like a turkey. Milo, millet, and sunflowers will work as well. But corn is king.

 

[Zeke6951]

I have heard that milo is good, but don't put it in piles. Scatter it in the woods. It will almost disappear in the leaves but the turkey will find it and it will look like a hay rake went through the woods. Some have put in a spreader like you put out fertilize or wheat with. The kind that goes on an ATV. It might be considered illegal baiting is some states.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I have heard that milo is good, but don't put it in piles. Scatter it in the woods. It will almost disappear in the leaves but the turkey will find it and it will look like a hay rake went through the woods. Some have put in a spreader like you put out fertilize or wheat with. The kind that goes on an ATV. It might be considered illegal baiting is some states.

Deer and raccoons will wear milo out, as well.

 

[pirogue]

A guy once told me he used bird seed.

Imagine that!

 

[Fowl Play]

I've got wheat planted, they have plenty for spring and early summer. I need something quick now to draw them off the neighbors and hopefully get a few to nest and raise on my property.

Assuming you are not hunting over it. As with all things, you can temporarily boost your numbers with corn. Not necessarily a great strategy though as you are just going to create an artificial ambush spot for predators to nab them. Bobcats, coyotes, etc. will key in on feeders and hurt your turkey population if not done right. Especially when poults come around.... they will get decimated at a feeder if a predator has keyed in on it.

A better long term strategy would be to create the ideal habitat for them. Mix of turkey specific food plots, thinning dense trees to allow sunlight to reach the ground, and frequent controlled burns. Boosting turkey numbers is all about creating habitat that allows hens to nest safely and poults to be able to hide.

 

[dbender]

I've done as much habitat as possible. I only have 400 acres to work with. Only one other neighbor has suitable habitat so my hands are kind of tied. I'm just trying to attract some birds to hopefully remain and nest and possibly artificially boost the population at least short-term. They typically use my place in the fall due to large hardwood bottoms but I have since thinned and burned in hopes of opening up a more attractive year round habitat. We have super low numbers anymore as it is.

 

[Scottf270]

If you really want to help the turkey population I'd get some trapping done on your property. Nest predators in most areas are out of control because of corn dumping for deer and lack of coon hunters and access issues.

Been trapping for 4 years now and it's making a visible difference around here. Word is getting out and I'm getting calls from folks begging me to trap their farms.

Last year I took 27 nesters from 100 acres of hardwoods in two weeks with 10 traps. This year I had 17 traps for the same two weeks and took only 7. Most nests don't stand a chance.

 

[dtrkyman]

Keep after the habitat, fire every year and rotating the areas you burn will keep you in multiple stages of new growth. Fire timing is critical.

Look into Michael Chamberlain, The wild turkey lab, he has a lot of research going on down that way.

 

[Honyock]

I run a spin feeder with milo, black sunflower seeds and a little corn for turkey. Like @Scottf270, trap the coons. I attach the chain on the traps around the feeder legs. Seems like after you trap a few of the nest robbers, they start staying away from the feeder. I've probably trapped 20 coons on the feeder legs in the last year. Makes some cool trail cam picks when you trap three at one time.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

We plant Chufas in the Spring/Summer and that seems to help. The problem we've had lately is hogs getting into them. They'll wear a chufa patch out. That's more of a long term strategy rather than immediate.

You could broadcast black oil sunflower seeds (bird feeder variety) in your hardwoods or throw out by hand. Harder for Mr. Green Jeans to see than corn. I don't recommend baiting during the season though.

Alabama has put the kibosh on any supplemental feeding during Turkey season, even if the intended use is for deer. We know of folks in our county who got ticketed for this last season, even though they were no where near a feeder.

 

[omicron1792]

If you really want to help the turkey population I'd get some trapping done on your property. Nest predators in most areas are out of control because of corn dumping for deer and lack of coon hunters and access issues.

Been trapping for 4 years now and it's making a visible difference around here. Word is getting out and I'm getting calls from folks begging me to trap their farms.

Last year I took 27 nesters from 100 acres of hardwoods in two weeks with 10 traps. This year I had 17 traps for the same two weeks and took only 7. Most nests don't stand a chance.

Yep. This is it. Habitat and trap coons/yotes/bobcats.