Well, here we go again...

[cwink]

peewee, with all due respect South Tx is not dry heat.. Most of South Texas hunting is extremely humid due to its close proximity to the coast.. I grew up in South TX, Corpus Chrisiti and San Antonio to be exact and the MS heat and humid aint got anything on South Tx. The only difference is that MS gets a little more rainfall than South Tx..

[Hambone]

Hambone I have never heard of research that shows it being afflatoxins killing turkeys as being specualtive. Contact Dr. Hurst at MSU and see if he thinks it is speculative. He knows a little about turkeys too.

Conditions in Texas aren't the same as in MS. You ever heard of dry heat. There is still possibilities that some of the corn in Texas will carry some level of afflatoxins and the fungus can still grow. But here in our part of the world it is alot more humid which creates perfect conditions for fungi. Hence that would make afflatoxins a much more serious threat to birds and small game species. Years that have extreme drought or extreme wet weather are particullary dangerous years. These years create stress upon ag. crops which make them more succeptible in aquiring disease and fungi.

I am done with this issue, there are to many backyard biologist that have all the answers but no true solutions. They seemingly know more than all the experts that have devoted their entire life to helping out wildlife and habitat and somehow or another all this time the backyard biologis (also called couch biologitst) knows more simply by watching the outdoor channel 3 nights a week and Dan Moultrie teaching him feeding techniques. I wouldn't suppose old Dan would have nothing to gain would he.

Hey, I'm asking sincere questions, not trying to start a stupid internet debate. I am interested in finding out how you concluded that the turkeys died of afflatoxin. I found a dead hen last year and remember thinking that I had never come across one in over 30 years of turkey hunting. Afflatoxin never crossed my mind, but there were no corn feeders in the area, either.

The basis of my earlier comment was that most of the concern seems to be based on what might happen, rather than what is happening. To the best of my (again, limited) knowledge, we have not been suffering from active afflatoxin disease (is "disease" the correct terminology?).

This whole bait deal is a very contentious topic. I cannot see any substantial practical or ethical difference between plots and corn feeders. For that reason, at least in my mind, the major question is the health of our deer and turkeys. Is there an active afflatoxin danger in Mississippi, or are Hurst, et al trying to prevent an outbreak?

I'm not a biologist and am not offering answers, but rather, seeking them. Help me out - I am really interested in discovering all sides of the issue.

[peewee]

cwinkler I do alot of work on Camp Bullis near San Antonio and I can tell you in the summer it is hot but it isn't nearly as hot and humid as camp shelby. It doesn't even compare in my mind. It is absolutly terrible to walk around in the woods at times in MS during the summer months.

[Kealhofer]

PeeWee you are damn right my brotha.

[OWW]

Hambone,

From what I can tell, this is a fungus occuring in grain. It was first found in peanut product (not corn) in farms in England in the 1960's. They were having farm raised turkeys die as a result. So yes, turkeys are a big target of such a fungus.

It can and does occur in unprocessed corn grains.


It leads to liver disease, decreased egg production, and lower immunities in animals. The young birds are at higher risk as a result.