What Do Turkeys Eat Naturally? A Guide to Their Natural Diet

Wild turkeys are a fascinating game bird native to North America. Their diet consists of a diverse range of foods they forage naturally in the wild. By understanding what turkeys eat in their natural habitat, we gain insight into their biology and behavior. This guide explores the natural diet of wild turkeys.

The Opportunistic Nature of Wild Turkeys

Wild turkeys are omnivorous opportunistic foragers, This means they will eat a wide variety of foods depending on availability and season, Their diverse natural diet allows wild turkeys to adapt and thrive in various habitats across North America

Turkeys forage on the ground for seeds, nuts, berries, greens, and insects. They will also occasionally eat small vertebrates like frogs, salamanders, and snakes. By consuming such a varied natural diet, wild turkeys obtain the carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals they need.

Staples of The Wild Turkey Diet

Though wild turkeys will eat almost anything, some key natural foods form the bulk of their diet:

• Seeds and Nuts: In fall and winter, acorns from oak trees provide an important high-fat food source. Turkeys also eat beechnuts, hickory nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and seeds of native grasses and sedges.

• Leafy Greens: Young shoots, leaves, and seeds of clover, vetch, alfalfa, and other legumes offer nutrition in spring and summer.

• Fruits and Berries Turkeys supplement their diet with seasonal fruits and berries like cherries, grapes, blackberries sumac berries, and Virginia creeper.

• Insects: High in protein, insects like beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, and millipedes are part of the turkey’s natural diet.

• Grit: Turkeys swallow small rocks, gravel, and sand to aid digestion, especially of seeds and nuts.

How Wild Turkeys Forage Naturally

Wild turkeys spend much of their time slowly walking and pecking at the ground in search of food. They use their strong feet to scratch leaf litter out of the way to uncover seeds and nuts. Their keen eyesight helps them detect tasty morsels in the undergrowth.

Turkeys frequent open fields and forest clearings that offer an abundance of seeds, berries and insects. Though they prefer feeding on the ground turkeys will fly up into low shrubs and trees to reach fruits, nuts, and leafy vegetation.

Hens lead newly hatched chicks, called poults, to areas with plenty of insects which are critical for the poults’ growth and development. Adult males spend more time eating hard mast like acorns to build fat reserves for the winter breeding season.

How Diet Varies By Season

The foods wild turkeys eat naturally changes depending on season and availability:

Spring: Emerging greens, clover, tender new grasses, buds, and protein-rich insects.

Summer: Seeds, fruits like cherries and berries, leafy plants, grasses, and insects for hens and poults.

Fall: Acorns, beechnuts, hazelnuts, seeds, waste grain in harvested fields, some insects before frosts.

Winter: Seeds, nuts, dried fruits, sumac, and dormant insects. Evergreen ferns and hemlock become important in areas with heavy snow.

Benefits of The Turkey’s Diverse Natural Diet

The turkey’s varied natural diet provides several ecological benefits:

• Scattering undigested seeds and nuts promotes new plant growth and habitat regeneration.

• Feeding on pest insects like grasshoppers helps maintain balance in plant and crop ecosystems.

• Creating leaf litter disturbance exposes soil for new plants and fungi.

• Consuming a wide array of native vegetation helps disperse native plant species.

• Providing food sources for predators up the food chain.

Threats to Natural Diet From Humans

Though adaptable, human activities can threaten the wild turkey’s natural diet:

• Habitat loss from development and agriculture diminishes native food sources.

• Predation and competition from invasive species introduced by humans.

• Supplemental feeding with corn and grains creates dietary deficiencies.

• Pesticides reduce insect populations relied upon for protein.

• Lead ammunition poisoning from hunters using lead pellets and bullets.

Key Takeaways on The Natural Turkey Diet

• As opportunistic omnivores, wild turkeys will eat a diverse range of natural foods based on seasonal availability.

• They forage primarily on the ground but will fly into shrubs and trees to reach fruits, nuts, and leafy vegetation.

• Acorns, beechnuts, seeds, fruits, leafy greens, and insects are dietary staples.

• Diet shifts between seasons as different food sources become available.

• Their varied natural diet provides ecological benefits like seed dispersal and pest control.

• Humans threaten the wild turkey’s natural food sources through habitat loss and environmental contamination.

Understanding what wild turkeys eat in nature provides insight into their natural history and ecology. This knowledge can help conserve habitat and food sources needed to sustain wild turkey populations. Their diverse natural diet is key to the wild turkey’s success as a game bird.