# new hen woods



## Sparky23 (Aug 15, 2007)

was out squirel hunting today with the old man and holy crap, only got 2 in good shape but i found id say 25 hens, washed out and dirty. In some weird spots, alot were up against very old oak stumps no bark, hollow, not very big even, and one was up against a big ol hickory never seen that before. I tapped out 7 today for squirels, 2 were reds wich dont go towards the limit. 2 blacks and 3 fox, dad had his 5 same combo. Got a woodchuck also...in a tree dotn see um in anythign other then mulberry tree's very often.


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## Michigan Mike (May 21, 2004)

Sounds like a great morning Sparky and congrats
on finding a new Maitake woods!
Never found one on a hickory before, very cool!

I've only seen a groundhog in a tree a couple of times,
and the one looked like a little Koala bear up there just
eating leaves, was pretty cool to see.

This morning, we caught about 10 nice specs and then
hit a hen house on the way home..found 3 nice ones that
weren't there last Sunday and played Maitake kickball with 
about 8 others. 

mike


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## Sparky23 (Aug 15, 2007)

I have never found much for any shrooms around hickory so it was odd. I guess they do what they want. I am kicking around either shroomin or fishing tommorow. Got a nice coho last night, may try to get a few more of those, or hell maybe scrounge up a grouse.


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## daoejo22 (May 7, 2009)

Great shooting and good finds.

I just started this year looking for mushrooms other than morels and stumpers, and thanks to this forum have done pretty good. I have found Chantrells, Cinnabar Chantrells, Black Trumpets, Sweet Tooths and Sulphur Shelfs.

But for the LIFE of me, I cannot find a hen of the woods. I would guess I've checked 200-500 oaks, and not a one. Anyone got any advice? White oak/Red oak, big tree/small tree. Its been really dry here, could that be the problem? Thanks for any advice. And thanks for a new ADDICTION.LOL


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## fasthunter (Sep 15, 2006)

Hey, Sparky sounds like you had a blast. Also, sounds like you're going to be checking those woods every Sept:coolgleam.


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## Roosevelt (Sep 21, 2007)

Nice Sparky!


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

daoejo22 said:


> Great shooting and good finds.
> 
> I just started this year looking for mushrooms other than morels and stumpers, and thanks to this forum have done pretty good. I have found Chantrells, Cinnabar Chantrells, Black Trumpets, Sweet Tooths and Sulphur Shelfs.
> 
> But for the LIFE of me, I cannot find a hen of the woods. I would guess I've checked 200-500 oaks, and not a one. Anyone got any advice? White oak/Red oak, big tree/small tree. Its been really dry here, could that be the problem? Thanks for any advice. And thanks for a new ADDICTION.LOL


The trees I find the hens around are big live black oak's, some on old downed logs as well. The woods has both white and black oak but based on the identification I have made it is probably the black oak's only that I find them on. I use this website http://www.dcwi.com/~bmills/trees/trees.htm along with a book to help ID trees. Until last week it was really dry here in GR but we had some good rain a few weeks before I started finding the hens so I was suprised I've done as well as I have.
I found 6 today that I missed Friday on a single tree. They were huge and not really edible now, really tough and weathering some and had a kind of woody texture. My wife has the camera at the Art Prize thing downtown so I didn't get any shots. I could have over filled a grocery bag just off that one tree! Too bad they were past prime..... 
Oh well, I practically wore out a frying pan this past few weeks cooking them :chillin:
Good luck to ya!


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## Sparky23 (Aug 15, 2007)

I think looking for a good hen tree is close to looking for a good elm for morels, i look up alot when looking for hens and look for signs of tree on there way out, not to say you dont find um on live oaks but i think it makes it alot easier just checking the high percentage tree's rather then every oak in the woods.


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## knockoff64 (Oct 14, 2001)

I found a nearly white Hen at the base of a Beech the other day, 3 small ones actually, maybe the paleness was because they were just very young. 

First one I've found on a healthy Beech, although this grove is being stressed by small white Aphids, nearly every tree has a colony of several hundred But the trees look pretty good. 

Going back today.


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## Michigan Mike (May 21, 2004)

daoejo22 said:


> Great shooting and good finds.
> 
> I just started this year looking for mushrooms other than morels and stumpers, and thanks to this forum have done pretty good. I have found Chantrells, Cinnabar Chantrells, Black Trumpets, Sweet Tooths and Sulphur Shelfs.
> 
> But for the LIFE of me, I cannot find a hen of the woods. I would guess I've checked 200-500 oaks, and not a one. Anyone got any advice? White oak/Red oak, big tree/small tree. Its been really dry here, could that be the problem? Thanks for any advice. And thanks for a new ADDICTION.LOL


Hey dj
Congrats on all the new shrooms this year, that's how I did
it my first year, just got a couple of books and followed
along on a couple of sites.

Just curious, what part of the state are you in?

On hens, I find them on just about any type of Oak,
either older big oaks showing some type of injury
or dead oaks and stumps. 
I'm with Sparky on this, I spend just as much time
looking up as I do during morel season.
Any good Honey habitat is a good place to look for
hens imo.

good luck
mike


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## Sparky23 (Aug 15, 2007)

I agree with that the honey thing Mike, being that my best 2 hen trees are also my best 2 honey tree's. Its cool walkin up to 5 or 6 hens and 100-200 honeys on one tree. Even found 3 giant puffballs about 5 ft. from it this year, funges likes somthing about that tree. wish i had more like it.


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## Michigan Mike (May 21, 2004)

knockoff64 said:


> I found a nearly white Hen at the base of a Beech the other day, 3 small ones actually, maybe the paleness was because they were just very young.


Hey KO
From what I've read and seen its just one of the many color phases
of the Hen. Some suggest that the darker areas produce
the lighter variations but I don't know if I buy into that or not.

mike


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## twohats (Oct 1, 2004)

I have also found a number of very light colored Hens, and they were in very shady areas. I also think that the dark Hens have much more flavor than the lighter ones.


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

twohats said:


> I have also found a number of very light colored Hens, and they were in very shady areas. I also think that the dark Hens have much more flavor than the lighter ones.


My guess is this season being pretty dry until now has had the hens lighter in color. Usually they are darker from the same woods I am now finding them in but lighter in color. Only this past Thursday after a rain did I find one dark as usual. Just my .02 on it.


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## Roosevelt (Sep 21, 2007)

They do get tans just like humans. More light they get, the darker they get. They have the same thing as us humans "melanin" I think it's called. 

I agree twohats, the darker the better flavorwise.


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## Michigan Mike (May 21, 2004)

twohats said:


> I have also found a number of very light colored Hens, and they were in very shady areas. I also think that the dark Hens have much more flavor than the lighter ones.


I usually find the almost white ones in very shaded areas
too, but once in awhile I'll find a white one out in the open 
which kindof throws it off a bit .
And I agree the dark ones, especially the latter ones,
are packed full of flavor!

This page mentions it here.
*http://theforagerpress.com/fieldguide/grifola.htm*
I think the next time I find a little one, I'm going to cover it
with a box, just out of curiosity.


mike


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