Resident Hens?

[Cut N Run]

When scouting one of the properties I hunt, I bumped a couple of hens that were roosted in the same place I usually find them on this 130 acre piece of land. I always find their scratchings in the same areas year-round. I can't decide if these are the same birds year after year, or if the location they roost just happens to be the most suitable location for hens to roost on the property. Now, this horse farm is kind of in an isolated block of woods, yet it is big enough to support a few turkeys comfortably all year long. There are some big open fields (that I never see turkey or turkey sign in) that separate it from the next big piece of woods with a narrow (200 yards wide) strip of woods that connects them. I never see more than those two hens together and the gobbler hunting on that farm is very hit or miss. Sometimes I never hear a gobble from that farm, but I know gobblers pass through there from time to time. If I do hear a gobble at that farm, I'm usually going to kill him.

I also hunt another ~90 acre horse farm just over a mile away in a straight line that is connected to bigger blocks of woods on 3 sides, but I see big winter flocks of hens around it from time to time. The farm owner saw 30+ hens in a neighboring field last Thursday. While I always see a pair of hens on the bigger, isolated farm, there's no telling how many turkeys I might see at the other smaller one. It could be 5 hens it could be one, it could be nothing but gobblers. It appears that the pair of hens never travel far from their preferred location on the bigger, isolated farm. I have seen and killed more & bigger gobblers at the smaller farm, because there's more area to roam without gobblers exposing themselves to human activity.

How many here have also encountered resident hens that just stayed where they lived and didn't flock up with other hens?
Just curious.

Jim

[Cut N Run]

Bueller,...Bueller,...Bueller?

Evidently, the Gobbler Talk heading on Gobbler Nation is not the place to bring up a topic on hens.

Well, I saw 16 of 'em and one great big stud gobbler in a hay field today a couple miles from the house. That Ol' boy will be tricky to call in until the hen flock breaks up. It hardly matters, I can't hunt there and the land behind is where the local game wardens hunt. Nice to see them anyway.

Jim

[Dtrkyman]

The average life span a turkey is only a few years so i would say it is just a preferred roost area, unless you have only seen them a year or two?

[Cut N Run]

I've seen no more than 3 hens in the same areas since I got permission to hunt that property, about 7 years ago. I suspect you're right, that it is most likely a favored roost area, as that location is along the spine of a ridge where mature hardwoods meet a younger grove of pines. I'd like to post a satellite picture of the area here, but I know better. It is not a terribly big piece of land, but it is a very good place to hunt, if you can catch gobblers in there.

Jim