Biggest blow to this years hatch?

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
I know this has been mentioned before and it’s just a small picture of the whole state BUT within last 3 days it seems 1/2 the hay fields in Rowan county have been mowed.

not good ! A few more weeks would’ve spared A lot of nests.

Wonder how cutting the fields too early compares against predators?

It’s complicated BUT I wonder if it would be possible for the state or NWTF to pay an incentive to farmers just like with CRP fields out west

ps I saw a hen 2 days in a row standing 10yds off a busy road in a newly cut field.. same spot. I almost bet she lost a nest there
 

duck1996

Button Buck
We've mowed in excess of 200 acres since last Thursday. Not a single nest has been found with eggs in it, which is a first for us. It's been an early spring up until this current cool front, I would bet the majority of poults are hatched out. I'm no biologist though.

Did flush 16 quail in a single 15 acre field today, was nice to see them for a change

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Makes you wonder how the hunting would be since most of the hens obviously were bred prior to the season.

Hmmmn, imagine what if it came in two or three weeks later. LMAO
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
well we hunters would want no mowing and no rain to prevent mowing. We are a fickle bunch. :)
personally i think dry weather trumps wet flooding conditions in terms of a good turkey hatch.
that bias comes from Seamster.
 

wolfman

Old Mossy Horns
Where I hunt, any hen nesting in the hay field would have to have started her nest within the past couple of weeks. If she started it at the beginning of the season, the field would have been too low and that nest would have had a bullseye on it. And I walked the edge enough to where I probably would have seen it or flushed her. I think the farm I hunt is good unless you have a late nester/re-nester.
 

QuietButDeadly

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Our fields were mowed the earliest this year they have ever been, just a few days after the season came in. No nests found in fields were there are usually nests destroyed and hens sometimes run through the haybine. After mowing, the hens could not nest in the fields and were forced to cover in areas that were not and would not be mowed. I was very happy to see that and certainly hope in improves the nest success rate this year, at least on our farm. We should have little ones on the ground anytime now and the regrowth in the fields should help their chance of survival by providing cover for them. Gonna make it hard for me to see them too.
 

30/06

Twelve Pointer
This weather right now is going to kill a lot of poults, saw the tiniest poults I’ve ever seen on Tuesday. They were about the size of a baby chicken.
 

hoyt85

Six Pointer
Between this rain and the excessive pressure that inevitably lead to higher harvest numbers due to the covid virus. I would venture to say the next couple of years in certain areas could be pretty lean, not just in North Carolina.
 

ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Between this rain and the excessive pressure that inevitably lead to higher harvest numbers due to the covid virus. I would venture to say the next couple of years in certain areas could be pretty lean, not just in North Carolina.
We left a minimum of 14 jakes running around..... only killed 6 gobblers..... I know of 3 big birds still walking the last day of the season...... and saw hatchlings last week of the season.......I’m thinking the early nesting is going to play out very well for the eastern part of the state! I can’t wait for next year!
 
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