| Author |
Message |
GN
| | Posted on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 9:55 am: | |
I am reposting this as a seperate item since it is buried in the poult contest string and it is pretty good stuff about dynamics of the turkey population and growth indicators etc. In a state TWRA hunting brochure for turkeys , the Tenn poult survey summaries for the last several years are included,as is a little text with it which says:"It takes a poult per hen ratio of 2.7 in August just to maintain a stable wild turkey population ..." It alsos says as to last year:"the August poult per hen ratio of 4.0 indicates good poult population and survival which has resulted in a good increase in the wild turkey population statewide." In the 22 years shown by the survy there have only been four years where th P/P/Hen -august was less than 4.0. Now the average brood sizes (what we would be seeing in early June now)are also described for each of the 22 years and the average brood size is 6.4 for the period, with the smallest yearly brood size average being 5.7 ; and in only three of the 22 years was it less than 6.0. The brochure says the august portion is the critical piece because mortality drop s to about zero after they reach three months of age....guess they do not know about the 34% hen kill the NWTF has assigned to Va hens in the off season(per ESPN piece desribed by Hody in another post)? The density issues raised by TP are not addressed in the statwide context..I know there are more turkeys in Tenn than a show dog could jump over though...and in Va Ky and every where else in Appalchia as well it seems to me. |
4DBIRD
| | Posted on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 10:15 am: | |
Very nice posting, do you have the rest of article? Would like to have for my records. If I may clarify one point. The study of the POACHING of the hens was done by the biologists studying the movement of hens over several seasons, not the NWTF although Super Funds may have helped fund the study. |
GN
| | Posted on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 10:30 am: | |
All I know is that a person named Kennamer who is with NWTF name appears as the author of the article in which the Va 34% illegal-hen-kill statistic appeared...as politley as I know how I will say I find that statistic to be stunning if true, and likely an error in somebody's analysis(a plausible explannation is that hay-baling mortality is counted as an "illegal" kill of a hen ). Anyway. I do not have an extra copy ofhte Tenn tureky population analyusis and it is too long to type , given my "typing" abilities. I will get a copy of one to Freddy and maybe he can share it with you at the picnic tomorrow. |
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