Rio Grande Wild Turkey Biology & Management Andy James, Extension Assistant September 2014

1. Rio Grande Wild Turkey Biology & Management Andy James, Extension Assistant September 2014

2. Overview • Introduction • Life History • Biology • Management

3. Introduction • History • In the late 1800s, hunting greatly reduced RGWT numbers. • By 1920, much of the population was extirpated over its original range. • Approximately 100,000 birds left in Texas, primarily in the Edwards Plateau and South Texas Plains.

4. Introduction • History • Through harvest restrictions and restoration efforts, RGWT rebounded across Texas and U.S. • Restoration primarily by trapping and transplanting birds. • Turkeys in the Edwards Plateau were not immune to population declines as numbers have been decreasing since the 1970s.

5. Possible Reasons for Decrease • Reproductive issues • Land fragmentation • Increase in brush canopy • Decrease in vegetative cover

8. Feathers • 5,000-6,000 feathers • 4 molts • Different coloration between males and females

9. Physical Characteristics • Males • Larger • 17-21 lbs • Females • Smaller • 8-11 lbs

10. Life History–Physical Characteristics

11. Life History–Physical Characteristics Female Male

13. Life History–Physical Characteristics Adult Jake

14. Life History–Physical Characteristics Poults • Weight - a few ounces • natal down

15. Life History–Physical Characteristics Poults • Down replaced by 14 days

16. Movement Turkeys move up to 2 mi/hr in search of food Direction is random, but driven by food availability

17. Spring – bred hens move independently from non-bred hens • Summer – gobblers move separate from juvenile males and non-breeding females • Late-summer – brood flocks form • Winter - males join flock

18. Movement • From winter roosts, turkeys move ~ 2 mi searching for food • In spring, search for nesting and brooding cover • Usually within 2 miles of roost • Some have been documented moving up to 27 miles

19. Pre-Nesting • Strutting display on gobbling grounds • Copulation

20. Nest sites • Grass clumps • Brush piles • Shallow depression • Lays 8-16 eggs

22. Nesting

23. Nesting • Eggs cream / tan with speckles • Incubation begins when last egg is laid • Lays 8-16 eggs • Incubation takes ~ 28 days

24. Nesting • Edwards Plateau • In grass ~18 inches tall • Rolling Plains • Vegetation near roadways • Low brush important for poults

26. Nesting • Reproduction and recruitment are highly important • Percent hens nesting and re-nesting • Nest success (clutch hatched out) • Poult survival

27. Nesting Reproductive success dependant on • Rainfall • Cumulative over the year not individual rain events • Winter rainfall better predictor than spring rains • Range condition • Body condition of individual hens

28. Survival Rolling Plans • Males; juvenile 59%; adult males 36% • Most mortality in the spring

32. Predation Effects on Nests

33. Predation Effects on Nests • Raccoon and grey foxes were the most common nest predators • Sometimes more than 1 predator depredates a nest • Occasionally a hen will resume nesting if some eggs remain

43. Management Considerations and Planning • Outlines a plan of action to enhance wildlife and habitat resources

44. Usable Space • Diversity is essential

45. Benefits of Prescribed Burning RGWTs can benefit from prescribed burning best in the fall and winter stimulates forbs, which produce seeds and green foliage beneficial for invertebrates

46. Prescribed Burning Caution: spring and early summer might destroy nests and kill poults

47. Turkey Diets RGWTs have broad diets • Green foliage • Seeds from grasses and forbs • Mast • Animal matter • Content varies seasonally

48. Shallow Disking • Disk in January - March • Plow, 2-4 inches deep to break soil • Narrow strips ~ 20 ft wide • Place close to cover • Disk strips in alternate years

50. Roosting Trees Large trees with many horizontal branches and broad crowns • Pecan • Cottonwood • Oaks • Hackberry • Elm