how to repel wild turkeys

[Persimman]

Turkeys keep eating the seeds out of my throw/mow plot. 1 week after planting the thatch looks like it was rototilled. 2 weeks, and the field is almost totally barren. The only new sprouts are where I spilled the seed bag. When I started doing t&m, the professional farmer landowners said "just throwing the seed on the ground? ha ha ha the turkeys are going to love you. you'll be their best friend". Well, yes, the turkeys love me, and apparently show up immediately after my annual planting visit. My technique is to seed, then spray, then cultipack twice (I love my cultipacker). This time I also spread 520# pelletized lime while cultipacking. But it doesn't matter if my thatch was 6' tall tough weeds or 2' tall grass, the turkeys root through it and eat without invitation. This area is not near my home, so I can't just walk out the door and say shoo. This was my 3rd annual planting, and by far the worst results. We have many coyotes as well, so this time I left behind a bread bag full of chicken bones and a quart of drained grease that Wifey saved for me. I hoped to attact coyotes who would then chase turkeys. But maybe the snack didn't last long enough. Maybe I should winch a dead deer up about 4' above the ground so they can't actually eat it. Maybe the turkeys frighten the coyotes.
Any of you'ns have experience with electronic or visual turkey deterrents? I don't really mind if they also scare the deer and the neighbors' cats. As soon as the plot is established I'll remove the repellents so the wildlife starts coming back.
I'd like to plant again later this week, but only if I have a clear plan of turkey repulsion.
No matter how the game patch turns out, it was still fun to pull my cultipacker around and watch the wheels turn.

 

[bueller]

I've used coyote decoys in freshly seeded plots but to be honest have no idea if it helped or not

 

[yoderjac]

Turkeys keep eating the seeds out of my throw/mow plot. 1 week after planting the thatch looks like it was rototilled. 2 weeks, and the field is almost totally barren. The only new sprouts are where I spilled the seed bag. When I started doing t&m, the professional farmer landowners said "just throwing the seed on the ground? ha ha ha the turkeys are going to love you. you'll be their best friend". Well, yes, the turkeys love me, and apparently show up immediately after my annual planting visit. My technique is to seed, then spray, then cultipack twice (I love my cultipacker). This time I also spread 520# pelletized lime while cultipacking. But it doesn't matter if my thatch was 6' tall tough weeds or 2' tall grass, the turkeys root through it and eat without invitation. This area is not near my home, so I can't just walk out the door and say shoo. This was my 3rd annual planting, and by far the worst results. We have many coyotes as well, so this time I left behind a bread bag full of chicken bones and a quart of drained grease that Wifey saved for me. I hoped to attact coyotes who would then chase turkeys. But maybe the snack didn't last long enough. Maybe I should winch a dead deer up about 4' above the ground so they can't actually eat it. Maybe the turkeys frighten the coyotes.
Any of you'ns have experience with electronic or visual turkey deterrents? I don't really mind if they also scare the deer and the neighbors' cats. As soon as the plot is established I'll remove the repellents so the wildlife starts coming back.
I'd like to plant again later this week, but only if I have a clear plan of turkey repulsion.
No matter how the game patch turns out, it was still fun to pull my cultipacker around and watch the wheels turn.

Hunt them. They will disappear...

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Not sure if there's anything you're going to do to keep turkeys out of a freshly seeded plot short of some kind of propane canon. Even a semi-permanent electric fence they will simply fly over.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

There’s some guys in the southeast that would kill to have your problem…with that said it’s still a problem. Do you have access to a disc? My have to turn some dirt and pack. Need to get that seed into the ground to have any chance of surviving

 

[weekender21]

Best thing you can do is broadcast the seed right before a heavy rain and get that seed germinating quickly. If it lays on the surface there are more critters than just turkeys taxing the plot.


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[Kooch]

Not sure if there's anything you're going to do to keep turkeys out of a freshly seeded plot short of some kind of propane canon. Even a semi-permanent electric fence they will simply fly over.

.22-250


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[SD51555]

I don't trust turkeys. They eat bugs. They're obviously in on the great reset.

Fix it.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

.22-250


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I'm assuming you're just being funny. Yeah...that will work I guess. Illegal...but effective.

 

[Troubles Trees]

Turkeys are spooky critters, at least when I am hunting them they are lol

I would have to do some digging online but off the cuff I would think you could do a makeshift scarecrow and move it around the edges of that area for a couple weeks until the seed has germinated. I know my turkeys scatter when they see me raise my gun or shoo away black flies on my headnet too quickly so maybe instead of putting a scarecrow up, attach a couple 3' strips of flagging tape to a tall stake and put it just inside the woods so they can't tell what it is but the tape moving in the breeze would spook them?

 

[DRG3]

I can go run a turkey call for you. that normally seems to scar them away when I have them around. lol.

In all seriousness, while i sure wish my turkey population was this strong, i think the idea of a type of scarecrow maybe with windblown motion may be effective.

 

[Nightvision]

Scarecrow that you move every day. Lots of work but should work. Or tie up a dog or two on the runners that allow the dog to run back and forth.

 

[Kooch]

I'm assuming you're just being funny. Yeah...that will work I guess. Illegal...but effective.

Yep. Just Josh in’


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[Peplin Creek]

I’ve heard pie plates on strings and posts. The wind blows them around and the shine and noise from the plate keeps them out.

 

[yoderjac]

None of that would work around here for long. Movement is what attracts a turkey's focus. That is why the first three rules of turkey hunting are "don't move", "don't move", and "don't move". But that is all it does is attract their focus. Once their focus is on you, they identify you as a threat and are gone. Another factor that matters is proximity of the movement. When things are still and movement occurs inside their danger zone (say 50 yards) they react quickly. Movement at a distance is not an issue. Them feeding toward something that is moving or flashing is not a real issue for them. I watch them feed into blaze orange survey tape blowing in the wind all the time. They ignore it.

If I was looking for some technique to make turkey avoid and area (presuming they were not already specifically selecting that area for some specific reason), I would start with noise. When it is raining, turkey will often look for open fields. Rain retards their hearing, so it makes sense that they head for an area where their eyesight reaches out further. I might try loud speakers playing loud noise that disrupts their hearing. This may work in a small field surrounded by cover where predators could lurk. I'm not sure it would be effective in a large open field where they could see danger approach.

Sudden noise and movement close to them may also be effective. A stuffed coyote sprung out of a a concealed box based on a PIR detection may be effective for a bit. I see no cheap and easy solution.

Personally, I'm not completely convinced there is a problem. We seed, see a bunch of turkey in the field, get poor results and blame it on turkey eating seed. As humans, we are quick to connect the dots, even when there is no connection. We want to see connections. (One reason conspiracy theories abound and are so attractive to some). We have very good turkey populations here and we manage for both deer and turkey. I see flocks of turkey in my fields after planting all the time yet I've never had them have a measurable impact on the result. While T&M seeds are attractive and an easy meal if they are visible, they are protected by thatch. Yes turkey do scratch for them, but that is the same work they do for scratching for all kinds of foods making my seeds, just one more thing in their diet.

I realize that wildlife behaves differently in different conditions, and mine may not be representative. It is possible that turkey are the issue, but there are many other factors that can lead to poor performance in a food plot. Turkey will eat just about anything that doesn't eat them. So, if it turns out that turkey are the problem (many think they are, but I've seen no hard data), I'd be asking myself questions about the state of my overall habitat that would cause this behavior.

Just thinking out loud...

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Personally, I'm not completely convinced there is a problem. We seed, see a bunch of turkey in the field, get poor results and blame it on turkey eating seed. As humans, we are quick to connect the dots, even when there is no connection. We want to see connections. (One reason conspiracy theories abound and are so attractive to some). We have very good turkey populations here and we manage for both deer and turkey. I see flocks of turkey in my fields after planting all the time yet I've never had them have a measurable impact on the result. While T&M seeds are attractive and an easy meal if they are visible, they are protected by thatch. Yes turkey do scratch for them, but that is the same work they do for scratching for all kinds of foods making my seeds, just one more thing in their diet.

I realize that wildlife behaves differently in different conditions, and mine may not be representative. It is possible that turkey are the issue, but there are many other factors that can lead to poor performance in a food plot. Turkey will eat just about anything that doesn't eat them. So, if it turns out that turkey are the problem (many think they are, but I've seen no hard data), I'd be asking myself questions about the state of my overall habitat that would cause this behavior.

Just thinking out loud...

Thanks,

Jack

It would be pretty easy for the OP to test your hypothesis with an exclusion cage of some kind put up after planting.

 

[yoderjac]

It would be pretty easy for the OP to test your hypothesis with an exclusion cage of some kind put up after planting.

Only partly. Turkey are not the the only factor. I find deer nipping off young plants, especially attractive crops, before they reach the stage where they can handle browsing. In that case, a germinated plant is eliminated . Again, I'm not saying turkey can't be a factor, just that if they are, it might be saying something about the habitat in general.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Only partly. Turkey are not the the only factor. I find deer nipping off young plants, especially attractive crops, before they reach the stage where they can handle browsing. In that case, a germinated plant is eliminated . Again, I'm not saying turkey can't be a factor, just that if they are, it might be saying something about the habitat in general.

A 4' high metal fence the diameter of a small fridge would keep anything out I would imagine.

 

[yoderjac]

A 4' high metal fence the diameter of a small fridge would keep anything out I would imagine.

Yes, but that is not the issue. What if you get good growth inside the exclusion and not outside? Was it turkey eating the seeds or deer nipping off small seedlings before establishment. An exclusion cage would be a helpful diagnostic, but not determinative.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Yes, but that is not the issue. What if you get good growth inside the exclusion and not outside? Was it turkey eating the seeds or deer nipping off small seedlings before establishment. An exclusion cage would be a helpful diagnostic, but not determinative.

Oh yes, I see. Understood. I was going off the OP's hypothesis in his first statement that the turkey's are indeed eating his seed...thus his failed plots. I assumed he ruled out deer. Pretty easy to tell if deer are wiping out seedlings or if turkeys are wiping out seed. I was just suggesting that a good way to support or disprove the "turkeys eating seed hypothesis" would be to set up and exclusion cage, then go from there based on those results. I agree other things could be at play...I was thinking those things could be abiotic factors, and again, assumed he had ruled out deer.

One thing for sure...I don't like his idea of winching a dead deer up into a tree to attract coyotes which would then keep turkeys away that were eating all the seed he planted to attract deer.