How To Make Your Property A Chick Factory

Land & Legacy - Habitat + Hunting

English - January 28, 2020 03:17 - 1 hour - 77 MB - ★★★★★ - 197 ratings
Wilderness Sports Technology hunting bowhunting whitetails outdoors habitat management hunting strategy food plots Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Previous Episode: Growing and Harvesting a Michigan Giant Whitetail

Next Episode: Cookie Cutter Consulting - Why Historical Evidence is Important in Land Management

This week is all about chicks, as in how to increase brood survivability on your property. Quail and wild turkeys can nest in many different locations and in varying types of vegetation with adequate success. So if they are nesting successfully to sustain a population why are numbers dropping?

In this podcast we address the most crucial timeframe for both quail and wild turkeys and what they need on the landscape. Once a turkey poult or a quail chick has hatched the average rate of survival is roughly 25%. This is a result in many cases of poor brood rearing habitat. Everyone forgets about how important weeds and flowering forbs are in the life cycle of young game birds. Upwards of 70% of their diet in the first weeks of life are protein rich insects. Without insects and the right habitat to support insects, they will not be recruited into the adult population. We also address the reasons behind wet springs and how that impacts nest success and brood rearing capabilities.

If you love to hunt birds and improve your land, this podcast is for you. Please share with the hunter or landowner in your life who is looking to improve wild game numbers on their property.