Anyone ever tried it in south texas?

You can't release turkeys. The state has to do it.

Do you have the right habitat for them? It will take a TTT permit to move them in.

Good thing yall told me. Yep its on the rio grande river so plenty of water, good trees to roost, and surrounded usually by sorghum and corn fields.

Yep....it's illegal to release pen raised turkeys into the wild. Not only can they transmit disease to the true wild turkeys, but they also lack the survival skills or nervous temperament of true wild turkeys so they wouldn't make it no way. I used to raise both eastern turkeys bought from hatcheries and Rio's I bought from game breeders and know for a fact that they won't have the same instincts and awareness of actual wild birds that learn from their mothers as poults...

Thank TJack. They area would be very conducive, but no turkeys in the area. Thats a shame. I guess i could call tpwd see if they would try to establish them or ask if i can, maybe?

That makes sense, the pen raised deer we have had sometimes, didnt exhibit the same weariness as native deer.

Contact your local game and fish, go to this page, click on your county and it will give you a phone number.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/land/habitats/southtx_plain/regulatory/
Tell them the situation, good habitat and you want turkey.
They may come and do a release!

Mark

I once posted a link on one of the release threads on TTT permits, but if you google if there is a form that can be downloaded and filled out. I believe for Rio's there has to be a minimum of 2,000 acres of habitat and a willing party willing to allow turkeys to be trapped from their property to transport to yours. When you google the details you can read the stipulations and see if you qualify. If not then just research some methods to preserve and enhance the habitat on your place and perhaps in time birds may move into your place as they expand into your area and find habitat they like.

Used to know a old farmer in Louisiana when I was a kid who loved to hunt Turkeys he stocked his place by swapping out the eggs of some old wild free range guineas hens he had running wild around his place with eastern eggs he said they grew up plenty wild. Probably pretty dang illegal then but he did it.

Id love nothing more than to send you a couple hundred hens.

X2

I wish yall could.

Jorge. Call the state get the info you need. Then contact NWTF, figure out their process and needs to help.

Then post on here about needing to trap some.... I bet I can get my buddy talked into it. But I'm sure some of the other THF landowner would be more then happy to assist.

As much as some tend to dislike their "Corn Buzzards" I bet there are some on here that would love to supply turkeys for removal from their place.

Way, way back in the mid '70s my Dad and I got invited to hunt at a friend's place in Uvalde County. Hunting was slow and after lunch we all decided to go pay a visit to a friend of the friend that had invited us. He had about 10,000 acres. As we pull up to the main house we see a flock of about 30 turkeys run out of the front yard. The guy had spent a lot of time, and money, encouraging the birds to stick around and grow and there were hundreds of them all over the property.
I hunted a stand that evening that was supposed to be a haven for does. But when the feeder went off so many turkeys cum a runnin that the sound was spooky. The owner had said I could shoot one if I wanted, so not seeing any chance at a doe I took a nice bird.
I got a couple feathers out of it and Dad gave the bird to someone who we knew would eat it because we knew my Mom would never cook it.
It's nice to have friends because my Dad told me shortly after that hunt that about ten days before I shot my turkey the owner of the ranch had charged one of the Oakland A's $1,100.00 to come shoot a turkey.

Ill get with tpwd. Ive been reading about the permits. Ouch!!! its $750 permit for me to reestablish on the ranch and thats if we wven get approved.

if you could get some, you know how things escape

I can get some locally as poults, but last thing i wanna do is get on the wrong side of tpwd. Dont need them angry at me, they can be as bad as irs.