Illinois turkey totals still strong

This is not a duplicate; it should work.

I just busted a hen off her nest today while mushroom hunting.  I was only about 5 feet from her when she busted out.  She let me pass her, then took off.  Question:  Will she return to her nest?  What are the chances tat she will return?  I assume 100% but just not sure.  I’m hoping I didn’t screw up the nest on accident.  I don’t have many turkeys around so I want to keep what I have.  She had a total of 16 eggs in the nest.  Scared the crap out of me when she busted out.  Sounded like a military chopper taking off 5 feet from me.  Please tell me I didn’t screw up her nest.

Treehugger,
Usually, turkeys will return to nests that they get busted off of.  Overall, there is usually a 10-20% abandonment rate (varies by species and location); sometimes due to a predation event like a snake or a racoon, sometimes they get kicked off like had happen to you(they just get scared), sometimes they just leave.

We kick turkeys off nests one time about 15 days into incubation to collect nest level information, only about 1 of 30 times does the hen never come back.  Eastern’s are a bit more sensitive than Rio’s to disturbance, but you are probably ok.  I have video of several birds getting kicked off by a coyote trying to eat them, then they came back an hour later, so I would not sweat it too much.

Bret

Bret, great to hear.  Thanks for the info.  This was the second hen I busted off a nest in the last week.  I don’t have that many turkeys so I really don’t want to screw things up.  What are the chances the young turkeys will stay on my land and call it homebase?  ALso, what percentage of the eggs will make it to adulthood?

No sweat.  First, you should know that hens tend to move fairly good distances from where they were bred to where they nest:  makes sense, looking for quiet I suppose.  So, the hen(s) on your place may be from nearby, or from several miles away (I have seen movements of 30 miles, but probably <3 miles is normal).

Young will probably not ‘stay’ in the same sense as you are looking for, usually hens with poults will hook up into brooding flocks mid-summer and when fall comes around they typically go into winter flocks (lots of birds in one place-more in Rio’s than Easterns, but Easterns do it as well).  But, if you have nesting birds, you are obviously doing something right and it is only time until you get some remaining on your place.  We have the same issue on my place, hens nesting but no flock structure, so I am using CP33 and some warm season conversion to help them out, one day I hope we will have more birds.

On %, hard to say, varies a bunch:  most likely <10% (1-3 eggs assuming 12 eggs/nest and a single nest attempt in good conditions). 

Bret

Man, sounds like it sucks to be a turkey egg.  Thanks for all the info though.  I appreciate it.

Anytime.

Bret