OUTDOOR LOGIC WITH BIOLOGIC
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“Must Haves” For More Turkeys Got Turkeys? Want More? Here’s How!
Just like all living creatures, turkeys require water. They tend to roost close to water and need a stable source somewhere nearby. (Photo Credit: Todd Amenrud)
Most wildlife species require the “F+W+C+S Formula” (food, water, cover and sanctuary) functioning in an area for them to take up residence. For wild turkeys, it’s a bit more detailed and complicated than that. They do need each element listed, but turkeys are a bit more persnickety. Everything needs to be just right for turkeys to take up habitation in your hunting area. There are also a couple things you MUST NOT have for turkeys to be found consistently in the vicinity.
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Turkey Chow Wild turkeys need a wide array of food types at different times of the year. These foods would also vary region to region, and thus subspecies to subspecies. An Eastern gobbler in Missouri is going to have a different diet than a Merriam’s in South Dakota. While some would think that planting a cornfield might take care of the majority of their food needs, they aren’t even close. Crops like clover, corn, rye, fescue, oats, millet, sorghum and chufa are great places to begin, but turkeys will also require “bugging habitat” and native foods like 32
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mast (acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, pinyon pine nuts and soft mast like wild cherry, grapes and berries), buds from deciduous trees and shrubs, along with other natural foods. My favorite planting for turkeys is a well-managed clover stand. I prefer Clover Plus because of the specific mix of white and red clovers. I say “well-managed” because turkeys prefer the small-leaved white clovers in the blend. It has small-leaved, medium-leaved and large-leaved white clovers, but the small-leaved varieties will emerge to the forefront if the plot is mowed often, and during the cooler parts of the growing season, aggressively. Large-leaved varieties typically prefer being mowed less. So if managing the plot to attract turkeys, I would suggest mowing four to six times during the growing season. Remember that crops like corn, sorghum and chufa are annuals. They aren’t even planted until turkey season is usually over. A perennial plot or native food sources are best to concentrate on for hunting time attraction.
