Weather, and nest predators are your largest factors in hens dying and poult recruitment. Been raising turkeys only 3 years and it amazes me we have any at all. Hardest thing other than my kids I've ever tried to raise. Getting eggs to hatch and the bird to 8 weeks old is very hard. When my hens are setting I keep a gun within arm reach at night, 3-5 nights a week dog will bark and I have to get up and kill something eating eggs or killing poults.

There's only so much we can do as stewards of the land. Another nesting problem I've come across that we cant hardly do anything about in our hunting area is fire ant control. Theyre almost like buzzards circling waiting for eggs to hatch it seems sometimes and they can and will kill small poults right after hatching.

I wish Bama would split the state and the season would run March 25-May10 in the northern half

Bunch of hard gobbling turkeys get killed up here every year in the first 10 days that never get a chance to breed and pass those genetics on.

damn fire ants willl kill a y newborn fawn......