TOPIC: hen of the woods

found 53 pounds around one dead oak this morning....

Wow

I will try and get some pic.s tomorrow...

Awesome Chieftain!!

go out and found 38 more pounds...

Nice big fresh ones. No visible mold and I bet they were mostly bug free too.
Latt

yea they were nice and fresh....

I found one of those this spring while hunting morels... it was huge but it looked old and moldy...

I know right where it was at.

Are the likely to come up in the same location ? It was growing off a dead tree that was down and partially buried.

It sounds like now is the time to be looking for them if Chief found a fresh one.

I will have to check that spot again.

TNHunter

They will typically fruit off a live oak annually in the fall. However, on dead trees they typically only fruit for a few years. The dead oak eventually gives up it's nutrients and sap and there is nothing left that the hen can use. I have seen hens on dead oaks many times. As far as how many rears they will fruit off a dead oak varies. Could be somewhere between 1 and 10 consecutive years if I had to put a number (pure Guess) on it. But eventually they stop.
I have a live oak I find hens on for the past 10 years and it has never not produced at least one nice one. Good years this one tree can put up a half dozen or more nice ones at the base.
Latt

I checked that spot where I found that old moldy one back in the spring, and found remnants of it still there... but no new fresh ones.

We have been way short on rain the past couple months.. so I expect that is why.

How late in the year do you normally find hen's ?

Wondering if we do get a few good rains soon, if it is not too late for them to appear this year.

Thanks

TNHunter