{"id":29401,"date":"2024-06-28T12:00:57","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T16:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=29401"},"modified":"2026-06-29T00:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T04:32:05","slug":"thank-you-turkey-trackers-your-brood-counts-make-a-difference-mydnr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/thank-you-turkey-trackers-your-brood-counts-make-a-difference-mydnr\/","title":{"rendered":"Thank You, Turkey Trackers! Your Brood Counts Make a Difference &#8211; MyDNR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fish-and-wildlife\/about-us\/email-newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MyDNR,<\/a> <em>Indiana&#8217;s Outdoor Newsletter<\/em>: Every May, wild turkey chicks (poults) begin to hatch in Indiana, and DNR needs your help counting turkey broods (hens with poults) and hens without poults.<\/p>\n<p>Brood reports have been collected every year since 1993 to calculate the annual Wild Turkey Production index, which informs biologists about population status and guides management decisions for the species. Please share your 2024 observations with us online from July 1 until Aug. 31. Recording observations takes less than five minutes, and no login is required.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, DNR received more than 2,203 reports across all 92 counties in Indiana, and we\u2019re hoping for even more this year. Our goal is to receive 3,000 total observations with at least 25 per county.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why count turkeys?<\/strong><br \/>\nBrood 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. Information gathered through the brood survey includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Average brood sizes (hens + poults). For example, in the photo above there is one hen with seven poults, for a brood size of eight.<\/li>\n<li>Percentage of adult hens with poults.<\/li>\n<li>Production Index (PI) = total number of poults\/total number of adult hens<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What is a wild turkey brood?<\/strong><br \/>\nA wild turkey brood is composed of at least one adult hen with young (poults). As the summer progresses, multiple broods may gather into what is termed a \u201cgang\u201d 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 \u201cbachelor\u201d flocks or are observed as a single gobbler.<\/p>\n<p>The Indiana Department of Natural Resources &#8211; Department of Fish and Wildlife rely on your <a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flnks.gd%2Fl%2FeyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMTYsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluLmdvdi9kbnIvZmlzaC1hbmQtd2lsZGxpZmUvd2lsZGxpZmUtcmVzb3VyY2VzL2FuaW1hbHMvd2lsZC10dXJrZXkvdHVya2V5LWJyb29kLXJlcG9ydGluZy8_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1hZ2VuY3ktd2Vic2l0ZSZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPSZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249JnV0bV90ZXJtPSZ1dG1fY29udGVudD0iLCJidWxsZXRpbl9pZCI6IjIwMjQwNjI1Ljk2NzE4NjIxIn0.G_6LuXwKdvbt9TpLEiI6qos_oDpfzNRxXAgvuawaxd0%2Fs%2F557490567%2Fbr%2F244697038801-l&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cmishr201%40purdue.edu%7Ca9f2b2e5dd9a47083e3408dc953fac82%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C0%7C0%7C638549347956443107%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=dROFMEnlJFAmEZx0%2FtZOZhkkjWSCw9ICGZEe2FODEBU%3D&amp;reserved=0\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-auth=\"Verified\" data-linkindex=\"16\">observations<\/a> to calculate their Production Index, so every report counts! Indiana DNR appreciates your participation.<\/p>\n<p>Jarred Brooke, extension wildlife specialist with Purdue Forestry &amp; Natural Resources, shares how you can participate in the Indiana Department of Natural Resources\u2019 annual turkey brood survey in a quick video.<\/p>\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_24687\"  width=\"480\" height=\"270\"  data-origwidth=\"480\" data-origheight=\"270\"  data-relstop=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JI6dYwfrvkA?enablejsapi=1&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&rel=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To learn more, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fish-and-wildlife\/wildlife-resources\/animals\/wild-turkey\/turkey-brood-reporting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DNR: Turkey Brood Reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To subscribe to the newsletter visit <a title=\"\u200c\" href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/communications\/mydnr-email-newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer ugc\">MyDNR Email Newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Resources:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.extension.purdue.edu\/extmedia\/FNR\/FNR-264-W.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Truths and Myths about Wild Turkey<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLgoGnq-fak7XTijMyab8WElouaTwlUfsN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wildlife<\/a>, Playlist, Purdue Extension \u2013 Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel<br \/>\n<a title=\"Forest Improvement Handbook\" href=\"https:\/\/edustore.purdue.edu\/fnr-idnr-414.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forest Improvement Handbook<\/a>, The Education Store<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fish-and-wildlife\/wildlife-resources\/animals\/wild-turkey\/turkey-brood-reporting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Turkey Brood Reporting<\/a>, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fish-and-wildlife\/wildlife-resources\/animals\/wild-turkey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wild Turkey<\/a>, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/fish-and-wildlife\/hunting-and-trapping\/wild-turkey-hunting-biology-and-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wild Turkey Hunting Biology and Management<\/a>, Indian Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCV33U3KP3HDhxgJO1n7HuOA\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe to Purdue Extension-Forestry &amp; Natural Resources YouTube Channel<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Indiana Department of Natural Resources\" href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gov\/dnr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Indiana Department of Natural Resources<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MyDNR, Indiana&#8217;s Outdoor Newsletter: Every May, wild turkey chicks (poults) begin to hatch in Indiana, and DNR needs your help counting turkey broods (hens with poults) and hens without poults. Brood reports have been collected every year since 1993 to calculate the annual Wild Turkey Production index, which informs biologists about population status and guides [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,1786,54],"tags":[1375,619,1484,175,1208,72],"class_list":["post-29401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alert","category-community-development","category-wildlife","tag-animal-tracking","tag-indiana-department-of-natural-resources","tag-mydnr-email-newsletter","tag-turkey","tag-turkey-brood-survey","tag-wildlife","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29401"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41731,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29401\/revisions\/41731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}