When scouting for spring turkeys, hunters tend to concentrate their efforts on roosting areas, clearings, and travel routes between the two areas. This approach makes sense, as gobblers are more focused on strutting their stuff than securing a meal this time of year. But turkeys have to eat, too, and paying attention to food sources can pay off.<\/p>\n
Understanding what wild turkeys eat\u2014and why they eat certain foods at certain times of the year\u2014is valuable knowledge for turkey hunters. From a management perspective, it can help us gauge the productivity of different habitats. And from a scouting perspective, it can help us pinpoint areas where birds are likely to congregate.<\/p>\n
What Types of Food Do Wild Turkeys Eat? \u00a0<\/h2>\n
Wild turkeys are true omnivores. This means they\u2019ll eat just about anything they can find, including grasses, invertebrates, forbs, seeds, tubers, nuts, and fruits, along with the occasional small mammal, reptile, or amphibian. Wild turkeys living in farm country will also seek out waste grain, chaff, and other agricultural leftovers.<\/p>\n While plants make up the majority of a wild turkey\u2019s annual diet, invertebrates\u2014especially grubs and insects\u2014are critical sources of protein for the birds. That means wild turkeys do eat pill bugs, grasshoppers, beetles, snails, caterpillars, and ticks.<\/p>\n Turkeys forage for these food sources throughout the day by scratching and pecking at the ground. The food is stored in the bird\u2019s crop (an enlarged chamber in the esophagus) before it is swallowed and digested.\u00a0<\/p>\n All five subspecies of wild turkeys<\/a> in North America eat this diet. The specific contents of their diet varies significantly by region, however, and the best way to understand what turkeys are eating in your area is to inspect the crop of a harvested bird.<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> The Best Turkey Hunting Shotguns of 2023, Tested and Reviewed<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you open up their crop and it\u2019s packed full of one flower,\u201d says Dr. Mike Chamberlain, a lifelong turkey hunter and one of the country\u2019s leading wild turkey researchers. \u201cOther times you\u2019ll see ten different things.\u201d<\/p>\n A wild turkey\u2019s wide-ranging diet is part of why the birds can be found in every U.S. state outside of Alaska. And while a lot of homegrown turkey hunters picture hardwood forests in the East as quintessential turkey country, wild turkey flocks also find ways to thrive in the swamps, mountains, plains, and deserts. Here is a general breakdown of each subspecies and the major foods they tend to focus on.<\/p>\n Eastern turkeys are the largest and most abundant subspecies of wild turkey found in the U.S. They inhabit every state east of the Mississippi River, where they key in on hard mast such as acorns and beechnuts, along with seeds from native grasses and the flowers of herbaceous plants. As with the other subspecies, insects also play a valuable role in their diet.<\/p>\n Eastern turkeys in the Midwest are especially fond of waste grains and other agricultural food sources, including soy beans, corn, and wheat. A study conducted in Wisconsin<\/a> looked at 100 hunter-harvested birds and found that the birds\u2019 crops contained roughly twice as much waste grain (roughly 54 percent) as wild plants (roughly 27 percent).<\/p>\n Rios are native to the semi-arid southern Great Plains states, including Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Texas. They depend heavily on oaks, pecans, and other mast trees, along with insects and a variety of grasses. Researchers with Texas A&M<\/a> found that a random group of Rio Grande turkeys in the state had a well-balanced diet consisting of \u201cabout 36 percent grasses, 29 percent insects, 19 percent mast, and 16 percent forbs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> What\u2019s The Toughest Turkey Subspecies To Hunt?<\/a><\/p>\n Hydration is also extremely important to Rios and other wild turkeys in arid states. While they get most of this from surface water\u2014creek and ponds, for example\u2014turkeys also hydrate by eating succulent plants, which contain more water than other plants. Accordingly, prickly pears and other cacti can be important food sources for Rio Grande turkeys in deserts and scrubland habitats.<\/p>\n A resident of the mountains and high plains in the Western U.S., Merriam\u2019s turkeys inhabit some hard-to-reach locales. While they prefer nuts from hardwood trees, they\u2019ll also eat the cones and seedlings from ponderosa pines and other coniferous trees.<\/p>\n Tender grass shoots and buds are other springtime favorites, and Merriam\u2019s turkeys often feed exclusively on grasshoppers at certain times of the year, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department<\/a>. Merriam\u2019s turkeys living in cattle country will also concentrate on feedlots, scrounging for leftover alfalfa, barley, and other waste grains.<\/p>\n In a study conducted on Merriam\u2019s turkeys<\/a> in South Dakota\u2019s Black Hills, the U.S. Fish and WIldlife Service found that \u201cadult birds consumed 78 different kinds of food\u201d throughout the year. But four main food groups dominated their crops: ponderosa pine seeds, bearberries (also known as manzanita), green grasses, and arthropods (mainly grasshoppers and beetles).\u00a0<\/p>\n Found exclusively in Florida, these colorful turkeys are at home in the swamps and the open pastures in the interior of the state. Birds in the swamp tend to incorporate more frogs, salamanders, and other small amphibians into their diet, while dryland birds focus more on grubs and acorns. Favorite foods also include berries, wild grapes, ferns, and other plants.<\/p>\n The rarest of the five wild turkey subspecies, Gould\u2019s turkeys can only be found in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico. (Their range also stretches south into Mexico.) Their diet is similar to Rio Grande turkeys and includes various species of grasses and cactus, with the occasional lizard thrown in. They also key in on pi\u00f1on nuts and berries from the scraggly juniper trees that are common throughout the Southwest.<\/p>\n Aside from the regional availability of certain foods, the time of year also dictates what wild turkeys eat. This is because some foods are more plentiful at certain times of the year\u2014but also because turkeys change their habits along with the seasons. Over the course of his 30-plus years studying America\u2019s largest game bird, Chamberlain has watched these dietary shifts occur year in and year out like clockwork.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at turkeys across the year, their fall and winter is tied to food,\u201d Chamberlain says. \u201cThat\u2019s all they\u2019re worried about, surviving and eating.\u201d<\/p>\n Hard mast provides a high-energy, high-protein food source to get the birds through the colder months. And when acorns are plentiful in the fall and winter months, you can often find turkeys in and around hardwoods. Timber stands within striking distance of a farmer\u2019s field or a rancher\u2019s feedlot are even better places to look.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as turkeys come out of winter, they use completely different habitats. I call it the spring shift,\u201d Chamberlain says. \u201cThe reason for that is they tend to go back to the same places every year to breed.\u201d<\/p>\n Turkey habitat in the spring revolves around clearings and open areas, Chamberlain explains. Turkeys need to be able to see one another, and the gobblers need plenty of room to strut. But these open, grassy areas provide plenty of turkey food, too. The birds typically key in on the fresh shoots, grasses, and other green forage cropping up in fields during the springtime. Insects also start to play a larger role in their diet as the weather warms.<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> Why Do Turkeys Gobble at Owls?<\/a><\/p>\n As the breeding season wraps up, hens shift their focus to nesting. Female turkeys need a safe place to hide and sit on their eggs for a month. Shrubbier, grassier areas with dense cover usually fit the bill.<\/p>\n Then comes the summer, which is a plentiful time for hungry turkeys. A wide variety of edible plants are available, from blackberries to fresh buds and flower bulbs. Insect populations also peak during this season and play an even more important role in a turkey\u2019s diet. Poults in particular need a steady diet of bugs for healthy growth during their first few months of life. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources points out<\/a> that a typical poult\u2019s diet will consist of 75 percent insects or more during their first summer. Adult turkeys also molt in the summertime, and insects give them the protein they need to grow new feathers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThen,\u201d says Chamberlain, \u201cthey rinse and repeat that cycle every year.\u201d<\/p>\n Spring turkey hunters who also chase deer during the rut can look at food sources for turkeys in much the same way. While male birds might be more interested in mating than eating, the females are eating like crazy in preparation for nesting season. (Just imagine how much you\u2019d be eating if you were getting ready to sit in one spot and fast for a month.) Finding wild turkey food sources can help you find the hens. And once you find hens, you\u2019ll find the toms.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think about it from a hen\u2019s perspective, she\u2019s stocking up on resources, taking care of herself, increasing fat stores, and getting ready to produce eggs,\u201d Chamberlain explains. \u201cAnd toms are going to areas where they can interact with hens. So, by default, they\u2019re going to end up in areas with high quality forage.\u201d<\/p>\n Chamberlain says that in all his years chasing gobblers, he\u2019s noticed that they can only strut for so long before they have to stop and eat. This often happens during the afternoon, when most birds will have worked up an appetite.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll seem oblivious to food for hours and hours,\u201d he says, \u201cand all the sudden you\u2019ll get a tom who takes a break and gorges himself on something available.\u201d<\/p>\n Read Next:<\/strong> Turkey Vision: Here\u2019s What Hunters Should Know About How Wild Turkeys See<\/a><\/p>\n As for specific food sources that hunters can target in the spring, Chamberlain points to fresh green vegetation and flowers. These food sources attract insects, which gives the turkeys a two-for-one special they can\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n \u201cPay attention to anything that\u2019s attracting insects. The [bugs] are going to track succulent forage, and then as the vegetation becomes more rank, they\u2019ll move on,\u201d he says. \u201cTurkeys aren\u2019t only eating the insects, though. They\u2019re eating the seeds and green forage as well.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother link I\u2019ve noticed personally is between insects and showy, attractive flowers. The birds show up and they can eat the flowers, but they can also work on the insects that are attracted to the flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n While hunters tend to associate food plots with deer more than anything, they can play a valuable role in supplementing a wild turkey\u2019s diet\u2014especially when pickings are slim during the fall and winter months. Also, in the same way they attract whitetails, food plots can help draw turkeys in regularly and establish predictable movement patterns.<\/p>\n As an added bonus, turkeys and deer like to eat a lot of the same things, including oats, clover, soybeans, and corn. This means that the food plot you planted for whitetails should bring in plenty of Eastern turkeys, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n Native wildflowers are good additions for turkey-specific food plots. So are bunch grasses, which provide good cover for the birds. Chufa is another popular crop planted specifically for wild turkeys. Also marketed as Turkey Gold<\/a> by the National Wild Turkey Federation, chufa is an exotic variety of the native nutsedge. It produces a small tuber that grows underground and is similar to a peanut. Chufa generally grows anywhere that corn will. It does better in warmer climates, however, and is most popular in the South.<\/p>\nInspect a Turkey\u2019s Crop<\/h3>\n
How the Diets of Different Turkey Subspecies Vary by Region<\/h2>\n
Eastern Turkeys<\/h3>\n
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Rio Grande Turkeys<\/h3>\n
Merriam\u2019s Turkeys<\/h3>\n
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Osceola Turkeys<\/h3>\n
Gould\u2019s Turkeys<\/h3>\n
Turkey Food Varies by Season<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/03\/29\/AdobeStock_wild_turkey_eating.jpg\")
Turkey Hunters Should Focus on Food in the Spring<\/h2>\n
![\"what](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/03\/29\/what_do_wild_turkeys_eat_2.jpeg\")
Food Plots for Turkeys<\/h2>\n
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