Right now we have 34 2-week-old Merriams available. They would ship out right away Monday to Wednesday. Minimum is 10 of just Merriams on these. We also have started poults available as well. Call or email and I can get a price on started birds.
Merriam's Wild Turkey poults for sale. Merriams poults can only be shipped with Rio Grande turkeys and Osceola Turkeys. Minimum order on these is 10 of these kinds of turkey poults. Please check with your state regulatory agency for any necessary permit.
Express Mail on poults covers box, shipping, straw liner, heat pack when needed, and insurance.
On wild turkey poult orders please print and take the email invoice to the P.O. when you go to pick up. Examine the chicks at the P.O. If there is a loss, please file a postal claim at that time. Once I recieve confirmation from the P.O. of the claim (takes a few weeks), we will handle the guarantee refund or reshipment.
On hatching eggs there is no guarantees on breakage, fertility, or hatchability on eggs.
Breeders Note: "This breed was next to impossible to find due to their rarity in captivity making them a true prize to have. After 5 years of searching we finally have a nice flock established. The white colored bands on their lower back and tail feathers are what make the Merriam so unique. Toms have black breast feathers with a beautiful iridescent shine and the hens have lovely buff tips."
History: Current evidence supports the hypothesis that it was a relative newcomer to western American wildlife when the Europeans discovered it. It was named by Dr. E.W. Nelson in 1900 in honor of C. Hart Merriam, the first chief of the U.S. Biological Survey.
Physical Characteristics: Although approximately the same size as the Eastern Wild Turkeys, the Merriam turkey has different coloration. It is black with blue, purple and bronze reflections. White feathers on the lower back and tail feather margins distinguish the Merriam from other subspecies of turkey. MerriamĘs appear to have a white rump due to pinkish buff, or whitish tail coverts and tips. It closely resembles the Gould's turkey but its tail margin is not usually quite as pure white nor is the light margin of the tail tip quite as wide as in the Gould's. The tail feathers are very conspicuous when the gobbler struts against a dark background. Toms have black-tipped breast feathers, while the hens exhibit buff tips. Hens have a more extensive white area on the wings giving a whiter appearance when the wings are folded.
Habitat and Range
Range: The Merriam's wild turkey is found primarily in the ponderosa pine, western mountain regions of the United States. Within its suspected historic range in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, the Merriam's was relatively isolated from the other subspecies of wild turkey. They have been transplanted into the pine forests of Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota. Merriam's turkeys can be found not only in ponderosa pine forest but also other vegetation types in elevations ranging from 3,500 to 10,000 feet. Their normal range receives annual rainfall amounts averaging between 15 and 23 inches.
Life History: The onset of breeding is heralded by the commencement of gobbling as the temperatures warm in the spring. Gobbling may start late in February and early March. With a second peak of gobbling occurring in early May. Toms may continue to gobble into June. Hens mate once and may fertilize all of the 8 to 12 eggs from one union. Incubation takes 28 days. The hen does not begin to incubate until all the eggs are laid and all the eggs hatch within a single day. The young are capable of moving from the nest soon after hatching. The hens and poults spend the rest of the summer eating, loafing, and gaining weight.
As winter approaches hens and poults begin to form flocks with other hens and poults. These become winter flocks. These flocks winter as high up on the mountain as snow permits. The cycle begins again in the spring.
Behavior: During winter Merriam's turkeys congregate in the pine-oak habitats at the interface with ponderosa pine. If weather permits they may even winter in the ponderosa pine. Deep snow forces them to move to lower elevations. During spring snow melt they again move up slope following the snow line and breeding activity begins. Toms begin to gobble and form harems. After mating, hens move into denser habitat at higher elevation to lay and incubate eggs. Toms and hens are not usually seen together except during the breeding season which is late March to early June. The remainder of the year they are in similar habitat, but do not flock together.
During the summer months hens and poults spend much of their time searching for bugs and seeds in small forest openings and forest meadows. As winter approaches, oaks and pinyon ripen. The hens, poults, and toms feed on these mast crops. With the onset of winter they begin to move out of the snow into pine stringers at lower elevations.
The goal of Merriam's wild turkey management is to maintain turkey populations sufficient to support hunting and aesthetic enjoyment without adversely affecting other public interests.
The MerriamĘs wild turkey (M.g. merriami) of the mountain regions of the western United States was named by Dr. E.W. Nelson in 1900 in honor of C. Hart Merriam, first chief of the U.S. Biological Survey.
The initial releases of MerriamĘs turkeys in 1961 resulted in establishing a remnant population of MerriamĘs turkeys along the east-slope of Mt. Hood and natural immigration of turkeys from Idaho has established MerriamĘs flocks along the eastern border of Oregon.
Merriam's turkey, M.g. merriami - scattered throughout the southwest and Intermountain West regions.
The Merriam's turkey (M.g. merriami) is typically associated with areas of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)
Merriam's have lighter, ashy-white tipped feathers
Departments of Natural resources release wild-trapped Merriam's stock in their natural habitats to re-establish the flocks. MerriamĘs turkeys are then trapped from initial transplant sites or imported again from other states.
Habitat
A mixture of oak, pine and other conifers, with a diversity of habitats including open meadows, wet areas and dense pole stands for nesting characterize habitat in Oregon where MerriamĘs turkeys have been most successful. MerriamĘs wild turkeys will use south-facing slopes of ponderosa pine and oak stands during productive mast years. In years of substantial snowfall, birds may move to juniper or similar habitat. These areas consistently provide a good source of grasses, seeds, and berries. However, use is still dependent upon the presence of ponderosa pine for roosting.
Nests: Merriam's wild turkeys nests have been found in a wide variety of habitat types and seral stages, however they are found most often in ponderosa pine, aspen (Populus spp.)/fir, spruce (Picea spp.)/fir, and oak (Quercus spp.)
Oregon Turkey Plan June, 2004 5
forest types (Schemnitz et al. 1985, Lockwood 1987, Liedlich et al. 1991). Merriam's nests usually occur on slopes of greater than 30%. In Oregon, Lutz and Crawford (1987a) reported MerriamĘs nesting habitat as thinned pole-size mixed conifer stands with untreated slash.
Brooding
Grassy openings in mixed conifer forests, meadows, and aspen glens provide brood habitat for MerriamĘs.
Springs, seeps, and recovering burned areas are also used by broods (Schemnitz et al. 1985). Hens with broods commonly used early successional forested stands (young mixed conifer and thinned mixed conifer) (Lutz and Crawford 1987a). MerriamĘs can utilize a greater portion of forest openings if shrubs or trees are interspersed through the open area, or if herbaceous vegetation height is greater than 15 inches.
Fall and Winter
MerriamĘs occur in areas that can be influenced by heavy snow cover. Available roost sites that are protected from the prevailing winds are important, especially used are ravines and small river drainages where the turkeys can roost above the cold-air drainage. If conifers are available in these situations, MerriamĘs will readily use them.
MerriamĘs turkeys compete with squirrels for winter food.
The Merriam's tend to have shorter spurs than the other subspecies.
ranches where many foxes, coyotes and bobcats are killed by hunters, Rio Grande turkeys or Merriam's turkeys are much more abundant than on ranches that receive little or no predator control.
Merriam's wild turkeys have been relocated to suitable wild turkey habitat
Merriam's were trapped and then released in areas across the state with suitable wild turkey habitat.
Photo is compliments of our breeder Boggy Bottom Bantams.
