TOO MANY HENS NOW + VERY FEW HUNT THEM.

[blackbeltbill]

     Since the 2015 major 3- way change to the Fall Turkey Season in Zones 3 +4- The Hen Turkey Population  has grown substantially.  In fact there are now too many in my area.  

     I changed my mind on protecting Hens a good 3 years back .

  Back in 2014 and going back- the Fall Turkey Season opened on October 1st with everything else. There was a 2Bird Limit. And a 6 Week Season.

   Now the Fall Turkey Season in Zones 3 +4 opens in mid- October.  1 Turkey Limit. And just a 2 Week Season now.

    While the DEC wanted to raise the Turkey Population-- it created a unequal situation  regarding Hen Turkey Numbers vs Gobbler Numbers. 

 Just my opinion as a year round Hiker on many Public Lands.

    Many Hunters talk about too many Does- but no one talks about too many Hens.

   Last 3 to 4 Springs,I have noticed that Hens are still with Gobblers all the way to late May. The Jennies breed last .

 Meanwhile - plenty of Hunters are eating both Tags every May and trying to figure out what is going on.

 Think about it-- Every Spring there are more Gobbler Hunters. Everybody wants the Big Bird. And Jakes are fair game as well. So many Gobblers and Jakes  are taken out and the Hen Turkey Population continues  to rise.

   All the above is just my opinion  from constant observation. Very few will agree and that's  Fine.

  About 7 Pictures below of Hens,I have Killed. I personally  consider  Mature Hens to be a bit sharper then Gobblers as far as being Wary.

  1st Picture below is a 14lb Mature Hen and a 9lbs Jenny. 

 

 

[blackbeltbill]

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[blackbeltbill]

I need to get all the above pics in my Journal.  I actually  have many more Hen Kill Pictures.

[lucky118]

So they killed all the gobblers so now it's time to kill all the hens to 😆 

[blackbeltbill]

13 minutes ago, lucky118 said:

So they killed all the gobblers so now it's time to kill all the hens to 😆 

  I see you are having some Fun here.

  Some Hens need to be taken out as,I outlined above.

[Belo]

Many state's professional biologists are seeing the drop in turkey numbers and recommending states drop the fall hen hunt... but yeah what do they and the NWTF know?

https://www.nwtf.org/content-hub/fall-harvest-and-turkey-populations

 

[mowin]

Wait... Before the season and during, you post about the lack of turkeys. Even post videos and links that support your post.  

Now, suddenly, you're overrun with hens, and they need to be thinned out.  

Sorry, but if there's a lot of hens, there's a lot of toms too. 

[blackbeltbill]

28 minutes ago, mowin said:

Wait... Before the season and during, you post about the lack of turkeys. Even post videos and links that support your post.  

Now, suddenly, you're overrun with hens, and they need to be thinned out.  

Sorry, but if there's a lot of hens, there's a lot of toms too. 

Definitely  changed my mind on Hen numbers as,I wrote. Just my opinion.  Happy to respond to you. 

[dbHunterNY]

i think the context is different with deer vs turkeys. DEC isn't trying to grow the deer population but keep it in check or lower it. turkey numbers in general are going down ever so slightly. takes hens to make more turkeys so that says there's no need to take hens. now if you find a place over run with birds and a lack of nesting habitat, then i could see taking some. that exists here in NY but typically in urban areas not as accessible to hunt. that does sort itself out a bit as they get picked off by predators. i think turkeys suffer more than deer when it comes to landscape with no variety in age of growth. thick tall growth they can't see in or wide open understory is prevalent. habitat optimized for deer helps deer in some ways but not in ways i stated to help them avoid predators. also trapping is fading. about any fur bearer decimates nests full of eggs.

[blackbeltbill]

2 hours ago, dbHunterNY said:

i think the context is different with deer vs turkeys. DEC isn't trying to grow the deer population but keep it in check or lower it. turkey numbers in general are going down ever so slightly. takes hens to make more turkeys so that says there's no need to take hens. now if you find a place over run with birds and a lack of nesting habitat, then i could see taking some. that exists here in NY but typically in urban areas not as accessible to hunt. that does sort itself out a bit as they get picked off by predators. i think turkeys suffer more than deer when it comes to landscape with no variety in age of growth. thick tall growth they can't see in or wide open understory is prevalent. habitat optimized for deer helps deer in some ways but not in ways i stated to help them avoid predators. also trapping is fading. about any fur bearer decimates nests full of eggs.

  I can only speak for my particular area. Hen Turkey Population  is extremely High. Last 3 to 4 years- that has become much more obvious.