My camo now sucks!

[megalomaniac]

We had a HARD burn that lasted 5 days on my local lease last week. I hunted there this morning hoping any hens that wanted to renest might be squawking and pull in a tom.

Hard to blend in unless you are wearing black!

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[Gravey]

Intentional burn or accidental?

 

[megalomaniac]

Intentional. A little late, but burning after Greenup will do a much better job for the habitat than dormant burning. Turkeys really love a burn the following year, so I'm hoping they move back next year. I actually found a couple places still smouldering, and fire started 9d ago and we have had 2 rains on it. Perfect conditions, and a lot of fuel in the forest.

MS went to a statewide burn ban 3d ago, so I'm glad our place got toasted just in time!

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[SEC]

Intentionally burning while turkeys are beginning nesting ?

 

[catman529]

Intentionally burning while turkeys are beginning nesting ?

it's early, they will re nest.


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[megalomaniac]

Intentionally burning while turkeys are beginning nesting ?

it's early, they will re nest.


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Actually, probably not. Studies have shown near 100% renesting if original nest is lost during laying, very high renesting if during 1st week of incubation.... but extremely low renesting if after the 2nd week of setting. In South MS, many hens started setting 2 weeks ago. Those won't likely renest. I do have a couple hens that are still laying and haven't started setting. Those girls are whom I'm counting on to continue ovulating and hopefully call a gobbler onto the property. Regardless, the benefits of a hard burn providing a more open habitat and succulent new growth which attracts insects and therfore bugging habitat for the poults far outweighs the loss of 2 or 3 nests on this 1000 acres.

A lot of the acerage that burned was so thick a rabbit could hardly move through it. Even deer hardly traveled through those areas. This should vastly increase deer forage as well as attract more birds next spring.

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[catman529]

Intentionally burning while turkeys are beginning nesting ?

it's early, they will re nest.


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Actually, probably not. Studies have shown near 100% renesting if original nest is lost during laying, very high renesting if during 1st week of incubation.... but extremely low renesting if after the 2nd week of setting. In South MS, many hens started setting 2 weeks ago. Those won't likely renest. I do have a couple hens that are still laying and haven't started setting. Those girls are whom I'm counting on to continue ovulating and hopefully call a gobbler onto the property. Regardless, the benefits of a hard burn providing a more open habitat and succulent new growth which attracts insects and therfore bugging habitat for the poults far outweighs the loss of 2 or 3 nests on this 1000 acres.

A lot of the acerage that burned was so thick a rabbit could hardly move through it. Even deer hardly traveled through those areas. This should vastly increase deer forage as well as attract more birds next spring.

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sounds like you got it figured out


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[MickThompson]

I still wouldn't intentionally burn after nest initiation if I was managing for turkeys. Sure, they can renest, but egg laying is expensive for your hens and nest success is much lower for renest attempts. Poults will also be smaller going into fall/winter too.