Lack of acorns effect on turkey season

[perrymax]

Do you think the lack of acorns will effect how many gobblers I will see this year? I don't have any acorns at all and there isn't any corn or soybeans around either. I have a little wheat planted on one ridge but it's only a couple of acres.

[woodsnwater]

Shouldn't have much effect on the numbers. Turkeys are resourceful; they'll find the food. It won't have much effect on the young birds either because if memory serves me right, they rely mostly on invertebrates with high protein for growth. I could have my wires crossed with something else, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

[skin_dog1]

No I don't. I doubt seriously it will affect the adult numbers, but we may see a drop in longbeards next year. There may have been a higher poult mortality, but I doubt it.

[Multidigits]

Do you think the lack of acorns will effect how many gobblers I will see this year? I don't have any acorns at all and there isn't any corn or soybeans around either. I have a little wheat planted on one ridge but it's only a couple of acres.

No, it'll have no effect what so ever. How could it? Last year is over with or will be soon. By spring, the birds will have plenty to eat as always. The only way you would have less birds would be because of a poor hatch last year or the year before. Both were normal. Turkeys eat a wide varity of goodies, including bugs, so less acorns won't effect them.

[Valley Station]

Turkeys aren't going to starve due to one main reason. Turkey, unlike deer, will move relatively long distance(6 or 8 miles) in the winter to find food. Large tracts of oak/hickory dominant woodland may not winter the number of birds as normal season. Big winter flocks will move to agriculture/river bottom food sources. Seems like larger, more concentrated winter flocks in places this winter. Body weights may be down. Birds will move back to spring/summer ranges as "greenup" begins.

[Multidigits]

VS-had 10-12 longbeards in the back yard the other day. There's some acorns back there, but they appeared to be bugging mostly. You leave them alone back there.

[Valley Station]

Multi,
Been seein' several goodins' in your "back yard". Plan on thumpin' one of them in about 5 or 6 weeks.

[Hammer]

turkeys can get full picking at a seemingly barren fescue field. They'll be fine. Mine last year was full of weed seeds that were barely big enough to see.

[Hoosier5]

Yes, there will be some affect on the Turkey, inthat they'll move to areas where there is food available for them to eat. Remember these are animals that can fly to other areas. My biggest concern is Squirrels, which depend on mast to survive if nothing else is available. Generally, after a poor mast crop the following Squirrel season will be a lack luster one.

[SixPack07]

Might have changed their patterns a little, but shouldn't have affected the numbers much.

[Gobblergetter2.1]

From what i can tell, it hasnt effected them at all. Like someone said, maybe their patterns (slightly), but it didnt have much of an affect.

[turk2di]

The lack of hard mast is why people r seeing so many turkeys in the fields and have been seeing them in the fields as early as December. Fortunately, the winter has been fairly easy on the birds even tho the western part of the state get buried under 2ft of snow just b4 xmass.I suspect that much like us humans, da birds are fed up with the long winter and when it finally breaks, will gobble their fool heads off!

[Feedman]

Of the crops that I have checked lately there is a wide variety of bugs, corn, soybeans, small green leafy looking plant.