NWTF - Hiwassee Chapter

It’s rare for a turkey egg to make it all the way to an adult turkey. Most hens lay around 10 to 12 eggs, but one study showed only about 20-30 percent of nests hatch even one poult at all. Then it gets worse. Another study showed more than half of poults can die in just the first two weeks, and some studies have put first-month survival at only around 25%. Raccoons, opossums, skunks, bad weather, and even a late frost can wipe out nests or kill young poults.

So when you see a one-year-old turkey in the woods, that bird already beat the odds. Out of all the eggs laid, only about 4% to 10% make it to a one-year-old bird, and for young gobblers that make it to where they’re huntable, cut that in half. Different studies give slightly different numbers, but the point is, very few turkey eggs ever make it all the way to a huntable thunder chicken.

— Stephen Ziegler
Outdoor writer | Owner, DeLong Lures