Kentucky Spring Turkey Season Opens in April With Strong Bird Numbers Expected

After a frigid winter of snow and ice across the commonwealth, Kentucky wildlife biologists are heading into the 2026 spring turkey season with some of the most encouraging population data in recent memory. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources announced on March 24 that brood surveys from 2024 showed 70 percent of hens successfully raised poults, up from 62 percent in 2023, and that male turkeys hatched that year are now 2-year-olds expected to be vocal, mature gobblers when the woods open up this April.

"All evidence suggests turkey numbers have improved over the past five years," said Zak Danks, turkey-grouse program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "We share many hunters' concerns about the turkey population, but the more we learn about our flock, the more excited we can be about the future."

The gains were sharpest in western Kentucky, where poults per hen climbed from 2.62 to 3.11. Researchers attribute a meaningful share of that improvement to the 2024 emergence of Brood XIX cicadas, the 13-year periodical cicadas that blanketed western Kentucky and provided a massive food source at a critical point in poult development, boosting survival and nesting success.

A multi-year study conducted across three western Kentucky counties reinforced that optimism. Using backpack-style GPS transmitters and leg bands, biologists tracked more than 230 turkeys to assess nests, brood habitat use, and hen behavior. Preliminary survival estimates from that research put adult hens at 70 to 74 percent survival and juvenile hens at greater than 75 percent, outcomes that proved better than biologists had predicted. A separate analysis of harvest sustainability found the annual harvest rate for mature gobblers sits at roughly 29 percent, safely below the 35 percent threshold that would signal a population decline.

Last year, hunters telechecked 30,661 turkeys statewide, a dip from the totals recorded in 2023 and 2024 but still above the numbers posted in 2021 and 2022. Given the reproductive success of 2024 and the improved survival figures, the department says this season carries real potential for another high harvest.

The season opens with a youth-only weekend on April 4 and 5, followed by the 23-day general season running April 18 through May 10. Hunters with valid permits may harvest up to two bearded birds during the spring, with a strict limit of one bird per day. Legal birds must be male or carry a visible beard. Shooting hours run from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, and hunters must carry both a valid Kentucky hunting license and a spring turkey permit. Full regulations are available on the Spring Turkey Hunting page at fw.ky.gov.