turkey foods can be seeded. 



Clearings can be opened by (1) bull- 

 dozing and windrowing scrub hardwood 

 or (2) pulling a triangular-shaped blade, 

 below ground, which uproots and cuts 

 hardwood stems. 



Seeding open areas 



In addition to new clearings, turkey 

 foods can be grown in such places as 

 powerline rights-of-way, field borders, 

 abandoned orchards and fields, former 

 sawmill sites, open fields, along woodland 

 roads, and areas that have been bulldozed 

 or burned in preparation for planting 

 pine seedlings. 



Leaving food trees and shrubs 



Food-producing shrubs and small trees 

 should be left when hardwood is eradi- 

 cated. The fruits, buds, and leaves of 

 flowering dogwood are excellent turkey 

 foods in fall and winter. The leaf and 

 twig litter of flowering dogwood, which 

 is high in calcium, acts as an antacid 

 buffer to the soil. This soil improve- 

 ment is important in conifer woodlands. 



Wild grapes, blueberries and blackber- 

 ries, dogwood, honeysuckle, and other 

 fruits such as wild cherries provide lots 

 of turkey food. Leave them especially 

 along roads, streams, and field edges 

 wherever they do not interfere with 

 woodland management. 



Food yields from oaks, beech, hick- 

 ories, wild cherry, dogwood, and other 

 species can be increased by clearing an 

 area 30 to 60 feet square around the tree. 



Providing Drinking Water 



Turkeys drink water daily. Therefore, 

 dependable year-round drinking water 

 should be well distributed throughout 

 the turkey range. A nesting hen should 

 have drinking water within 400 feet of 

 her nest. When possible, curtail all hu- 

 man activities around the watering places 

 during nesting months. 



Ponds and wells with windmills can 

 assure a supply of water. If you do not 

 have enough watering places, your soil 

 conservationist can assist you with im- 

 pounding more water. During droughts 



* w!W» 



TENN-D18-20 



Clearings such as this powerline right- 

 of-way can be seeded to choice wild 

 turkey food. 



turkeys will leave any range where sur- 

 face water is not available. 



Protecting Wild Turkeys 



Wild turkeys need protection from 

 some of man's activities, from disease, 

 and from some predators. Illegal or ex- 

 cessive hunting; disturbances during the 

 nesting season; and free-ranging dogs, 

 livestock, and poultry are important fac- 

 tors in preventing turkey increase. 



Nesting-season disturbances 



Protection is especially necessary dur- 

 ing the early nesting season— from March 

 to early May in the Deep South, April 

 through May in the mid-South, and a lit- 

 tle later northward. The hen turkey pre- 

 fers to nest at the edge of openings, such 

 as fields and old sawmill sites and along 

 woodland roads. She often deserts her 

 nest if flushed from it during the 3-week 

 egg-laying period or the first few days 

 of the 28-day incubation period. When- 

 ever possible, stop timbering operations 

 in favorable nesting areas during egg lay- 

 ing and incubation. 



Free-ranging livestock 



Free-ranging livestock will destroy food 

 plantings and grassy strips. Hogs com- 



