COLUMBUS — Ohio’s wild turkey poult index, a metric used to estimate nest success and poult survival for the bird, was slightly above the 10-year average at 2.9 poults per hen in 2024, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
This is the fourth year in a row that Ohio’s brood survey has been above average or slightly above average. Wild turkey brood surveys in 2021, 2022 and 2023 showed strong nest productivity that benefited turkey populations. The statewide average poults per hen was 2.8 in 2023, 3.0 in 2022 and 3.1 in 2021. This year, the 10-year average increased from 2.7 to 2.8 poults per hen because of recent turkey nest success.
The division relies on public reports of wild turkeys and their young, called poults, in July and August of each year to estimate nest success and poult survival. The annual poult index can serve as an indicator of wild turkey population trends and inform harvest regulations in future years. Turkey brood success is largely influenced by weather conditions, habitat and predation.
Turkey poult production varied slightly by region. In northeast and northwest Ohio, the index was 3.1 poults per hen. It was 2.8 in southeast and central Ohio, and 2.2 poults per hen in southwest Ohio. Because of habitat availability, Ohio’s turkey populations are typically strongest in the eastern and southern counties. This year’s survey results were based on 1,952 responses.
Wild turkeys in Ohio were wiped out around 1904. The division began reintroducing wild turkeys to the Buckeye State in the 1950s. For the next five decades, the wild turkey population grew and expanded rapidly, facilitated by trap-and-transfer efforts. By 1999, wild turkeys were found in all 88 counties.
Ohio’s first modern day spring wild turkey hunting season opened in 1966 in nine counties, and hunters checked 12 birds. Turkey hunting was opened statewide in 2000. The highest Ohio spring wild turkey harvest was in 2001, when hunters checked 26,156 birds.
Ohio’s fall wild turkey hunting season is open from Oct. 1-27. Visit ohiodnr.gov for more information on hunting regulations and season limits for wild turkeys.
