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Florida is home to the
Florida wild turkey (Meleagris
gallopavo osceola) and the eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo
silvestris). The Florida wild turkey is found only in peninsular Florida
(figure one). North of the peninsula it intergrades with the eastern subspecies.
The Florida wild turkey is best distinguished from the eastern subspecies,
which it closely resembles, by its darker wing feathers. The white bars
on the primary wing feathers are narrower than the black bars and are
irregular or broken.
Wild turkey hens in Florida typically begin laying in late
March or early April. Clutches average 10.3 eggs and take approximately
12-13 days to lay. Eggs hatch after 25-26 days of continuous incubation.
Poults will roost on the ground for the first 14 days after hatching.
During this period, approximately 70 percent mortality occurs, primarily
through predation.
Only 45-50 percent of wild turkey nests successfully hatch. Most are
lost to predators, although occasionally nests are lost by other means
(agricultural activities, flooding, etc.). However, hens often renest
if their initial nest is destroyed. Major wild turkey nest predators include
raccoons, striped and spotted
skunks. Other nest predators include opossums,
gray foxes, coyotes and domestic
dogs.
Predators are a natural element in a wild turkey’s environment and
attempts to control predators are usually ineffective and economically
unfeasible. Efforts are better spent developing and maintaining good quality
brood habitat which is often the limiting factor on wild turkey populations.
Good brood habitat has 1-3 foot vegetation (grasses, weeds, etc.) open
enough to provide unimpeded movement for young poults, yet dense enough
to provide cover from predators. Good brood habitat also provides seeds,
insects, and succulent growth for poults to feed upon.
Diseases are also a natural element in a wild turkey’s environment.
However, most disease outbreaks involve only a few turkeys and typically
have little impact on the population as a whole. A common disease among
wild turkeys in Florida is avian pox or "sore head." Avian pox
is caused by a virus that infects most turkeys in Florida and is usually
transmitted via mosquito and other blood- feeding insect bites. Symptoms
include lesions, or "sores" on unfeathered areas (head, feet,
legs, eyelids, etc.) and/or in the mouth and upper respiratory tract.
Mosquitoes can transmit this virus for up to 4 weeks after feeding on
an infected turkey. Avian pox likely causes or contributes to the death
of some wild turkeys each year, but not in significant numbers.
Occasionally, landowners express concern that there may be "too
many turkeys" on their property. This is motivated by anxiety that
there is a direct link between wild turkey population density and disease
outbreaks. Disease spread is indeed related to population density for
many animal populations, but there is little evidence that this relationship
occurs in wild turkey populations. This may be due, in part, to the social
nature of wild turkeys. They are gregarious animals and exhibit flocking
behavior regardless of density (i.e., individual to individual contact
occurs whether there are many wild turkeys or only a few). Therefore,
there is little reason to harvest wild turkeys for the purpose of controlling
or preventing disease outbreaks.
Concerns have also been expressed over sex ratios in wild turkey populations.
Most people are familiar with the need to maintain a sex ratio "balance"
in deer herds. As a deer herd increases to the habitat’s carrying
capacity it begins to degrade the habitat. Basically, deer density affects
habitat quality, reproductive rates, and health of the herd.
Wild turkey populations, however, function differently. Their densities
are not known to affect habitat quality, reproductive rates, or health
of the flock. Approximately 30-45 percent of a turkey population each
fall is composed of young and, in a stable population, about that many
adults die each year. Thus, the population replaces itself every 3 or
4 years. Sex ratios of young wild turkeys remain approximately 50:50 regardless
of habitat conditions or population densities. If an imbalanced sex ratio
does occur, it should pose no serious population problem due to the continuous
and relatively rapid population turnover rate.
Hen harvest to reduce population levels is unnecessary and can be detrimental
to the population as a whole. While areas with good turkey populations
can withstand limited amounts of hen harvest without impacting the population,
the number of turkeys available for harvest is closely linked to that
year’s reproduction. During years with good reproduction, a higher
number of turkeys can be harvested with no adverse impacts on the population.
However, during years with poor reproduction, there are fewer young available
to be harvested and hen harvest would consist of adult birds, which could
adversely impact the population since adult hens are more successful in
raising offspring. Moreover, to successfully implement hen harvest would
require annual turkey population surveys, which are difficult to conduct
adequately, are labor intensive, and costly, making such a program unfeasible,
at least on a large scale. Further, since turkeys are not known to over-populate
and do not damage their habitat, there is no biological justification
for pursuing hen harvest to alleviate such perceived problems. Generally,
individuals with areas supporting large turkey populations are fortunate
and should not be overly concerned with an abundant population.
More information
If you have any questions regarding turkey management, contact the
FWC regional office nearest you. You may also e-mail
the FWC or
call at 850-488-4676.
National Wild Turkey Federation.
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