Got Nature? Blog

The image here shows one hen with seven poults, for a brood size of eight.

MyDNR, Indiana’s Outdoor Newsletter: Help the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife monitor summer production of wild turkeys by recording wild turkey sightings during July and August using our online survey tool. Brood surveys provide useful estimates about annual production by wild turkey hens and the survival of poults (young turkeys) through the summer brood-rearing period. Summer brood survival is generally the primary factor influencing wild turkey population trends. Information on summer brood survival is essential for sound turkey management.

This summer, multiple broods may gather into what is termed a “gang” brood with several adult hens and multiple broods of poults of varied ages. During summer, adult gobblers (male turkeys) play no role in raising a brood and either form small male only “bachelor” flocks or are observed as a single gobbler. No gobblers should be reported.

The image below shows one hen with eight poults, for a brood size of nine.

Use this guide Introduction to Turkey Broods (pdf) to help you identify and how to report. Please provide as accurate a count of both hens and poults as possible. It is also just as important to record observations of hens without poults. Don’t compile multiple observations as one report, instead report each different observation separately, even if observations of different broods are made on the same day in the same county. Understand that by mid to late August, turkey poults are normally about two-thirds the size of an adult, and a juvenile gobbler (jake) can be about the same size as an adult hen. Suspected repeat observations of the same turkeys during the same month should not be recorded.

You can share your observations of wild turkey hens with and without poults from July 1 to August 31, 2022. We’re excited to offer you a new, easier way to submit your turkey brood sighting, no password required. If you’re new to turkey brood identification or need help identifying male and female turkeys please visit Turkey Brood Reporting.

Check out this video from Jarred Brooke, Wildlife Extension Specialist, Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources:

Resources:
Four Simple Steps, Help Indiana DNR Estimate Wild Turkey Populations, Purdue Extension – Forestry & Natural Resources
Why Count Turkeys?, Indiana DNR
Truths and Myths about Wild Turkey, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Wildlife, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Jarred Brooke, Extension Wildlife Specialist
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IN DNR) – Division of Fish and Wildlife