Clover can undoubtedly be one of the best choices for a turkey food plot. Not only does it provide a great source of food but, as a legume, it also attracts lots of insects for young poults and adult turkeys alike. Its low growth also provides an excellent location for gobblers to strut and young poults to forage.
Do turkeys like clover plots?
There is no question that a clover plot is an excellent place to encounter a gobbler in the spring, and the reason is simple, ladino clover plots provide wild turkeys with an excellent source of forage as well.
What clover do turkeys like best?
Durana is an intermediate type clover that is tolerant of deer pressure and produces more seed and smaller leaves for turkey. Since it is a perennial, Durana will last for several years and will provide a highly digestible, high protein food plot for deer, turkey and many other types of wildlife.
Will turkeys eat clover seed?
Clover is a productive food for both deer and turkeys. When the annuals that are planted to hunt over during deer season die off, the clover still will be in that corner of the field where I’ve spread it before hunting season. The clover really comes out strong the following spring and is ideal for turkeys.
What attracts turkeys to grow?
Turkeys prefer thinner vegetation when foraging and strutting. Some of the most popular and well known plants for turkeys include agricultural crops like rye, millet, oats, wheat, soybeans and sorghum. Chufa, a plant which forms small underground tubers, is also a favorite of wild turkeys.
How do you attract turkeys fast?
Turkeys are omnivorous and will sample a wide variety of foods. To attract turkeys to your yard, you can provide them with a large ground feeding station containing cracked corn or mixed birdseed. Turkeys will also happily clean up any spills under hanging feeders you may have up for other birds.
How do I attract turkey to my land?
Turkeys prefer an open forest floor covered in leaf litter for easy forage. Creating openings: Turkeys like open, brushy space and grasslands rich in forage. Grass-rich areas also provide safer nesting sites. These can be created by clear-cutting one- to five-acre patches through the forest.
What is the best bait for wild turkey?
Since wild turkeys are a ground-feeding type, sprinkling cracked corn in an open area of dirt is a sufficient way to attract them. Seeds- Another easily attainable food source, seeds provide even more nutrition for wild turkeys. Mixing seeds and cracked corn makes a great spread out meal.
Do turkeys prefer woods or fields?
Cover – Although turkeys use forests for cover and roosting in the tall hardwood trees at night, they also like open and brushy areas for feeding, mating, nesting and rearing their young. Turkeys actually depend on a mix of open fields, pasture and forested for their survival.
Do turkeys prefer ridges or bottoms?
Turkeys use creek bottoms as corridors to get to and from preferred feeding and roosting areas. The bigger the scratchings, the bigger the turkeys. Gobblers also love to scratch near the base of bigger trees as well. Gobblers will also leave sign along sandy roads leading to and from fields and food plots.
What type of seed do turkeys like?
In addition to chufa and clover, specialists with Clemson Extension Forestry and Natural Resources recommend field corn, oats, ryegrass and sorghum. Turkeys will forage on field corn from fall into winter; be sure to plant at least an acre to allow enough corn for other wildlife foragers, such as deer.
What can I plant in spring for turkey?
Green fields of any type attract turkeys. Alfalfa and clover are prime green field candidates. Many varieties of clover are available to fit your climate, soil type and drainage. Both clover and alfalfa green up early in spring.
What clover is the best for wildlife?
If you are going to go with just one type of clover for your plot, white clover is the right choice. Gillium pointed out that White Dutch and Ladino are some of the best white clover for deer and both do very well as pure stands.
What do turkeys like the most?
Plant Other Nut and Berry-Producing Plants: In addition to oak acorns, other staples of the wild turkey diet include beech nuts, pecans, hickory nuts, crabapples, and hackberries. By planting native nut and berry-producing plants you’ll provide turkeys with the natural foods they’ve consumed for thousands of years.
What trees attract turkeys?
Turkeys will be naturally attracted to trees and shrubs like dogwoods, chokeberries, viburnums, hickories, beech, hawthorns, and more. Oak trees should also be on the top of your list with white oak and red oak trees, in particular, proving to be effective at attracting turkeys.
What trees do turkeys like to roost in?
Turkeys also prefer pine trees to any other types of trees. They offer cover year round and often a clean forest floor to take off and land on. A single pine tree will do the trick if it is big enough, but clusters of them are best.
What time of day is best for hunting turkeys?
Time of Day: Since Turkeys make their nest in trees and on the ground in wooded areas, one of the best times of day to hunt is first thing in the morning. Get out to your blind early and listen for the yelps, cackles, and gobbles of turkeys as they start in search for breakfast.
Will A spooked turkey come back?
The gobbler wanted to be where you were when you spooked him. So, after he thinks you’re gone, and he hears a hen softly calling, there’s a very good chance he may come back in that direction. Remember — the gobbler has a limited number of days to breed.
Do turkeys follow the same path every day?
Turkeys tend to travel the same routes or circuits to the same areas every day, as long as those areas provide what turkeys need and want. Hunters can use this information to place themselves right in the path of the birds, or at least pretty close to where those birds typically travel on any given day.
How do you know if there’s a turkey on your property?
Look for signs, such as scratching in wooded flats, tracks and strut marks on logging roads, and scat and wing feathers near roosting spots. Slip into the woods a few mornings and listen for gobbling — not just on the roost but after flydown.
Where do turkeys like to hangout?
Tall Pine Trees
While they might roost in deciduous trees, turkeys prefer conifers. In particular, they like a grove of tall pines with few branches on the lower trunks so they can see a large area. Listen for gobblers flying up into their roosts right at dusk in areas with these mature pines.