As a curious backyard turkey owner or wildlife enthusiast, you may wonder – do wild turkeys eat meat? The answer is yes, wild turkeys are actually omnivores that will eat both plant and animal matter. However, the frequency and type of meat that wild turkeys consume depends on a variety of factors. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the complex dietary habits of these remarkable birds.
An Overview of Wild Turkey Diets
Wild turkeys have diverse diets that change based on seasonal availability of food sources, habitat, and life stage. Poults (baby turkeys) require high protein foods like insects and small lizards to support rapid growth. Adult turkeys switch between plant and animal foods as needed. Their optimal diet consists of greens, seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, roots, insects, snails, salamanders, frogs, snakes, mice, and more.
Wild turkeys are natural foragers with excellent eyesight that scout forest floors and fields for their next meal. As true opportunists, they will capitalize on any abundant food sources available including agricultural crops. Overall, the majority of a wild turkey’s nutrition comes from plant foods like grasses, acorns, and seeds. But, meat and protein sources do make up an notable portion of their omnivorous menu.
How Often Do Wild Turkeys Eat Meat?
The frequency of meat consumption for wild turkeys depends on the season Insect availability peaks in spring and summer when turkeys of all ages can find protein-packed foods like grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, and dragonflies
In fall and winter turkeys switch to nuts and remaining fruits grains, or greens. But, they will still eat meat as the opportunity arises. Mammals like mice or rabbits become a target during colder months. Carrion (decaying carcasses) also provides essential nutrition once snow limits foraging. Overall, adult turkeys seem to eat meat most frequently in spring/summer but remain open to meat sources year-round.
What Types of Meat Do Wild Turkeys Eat?
Wild turkeys are resourceful foragers and willing to eat almost any meat source they can capture. Here are some of the surprising meats found in wild turkey diets:
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Insects: Crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, dragonflies, etc.
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Arachnids: Spiders and ticks
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Reptiles: Small snakes and lizards
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Amphibians: Salamanders, frogs, toads
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Fish: Typically eggs and fry rather than adults
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Birds: Mostly eggs and nestlings
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Mammals: Voles, shrews, mice, rabbits, squirrels
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Carrion: Rotting carcasses of any animal
Turkeys may also occasionally prey on larger animals like ducks, foxes, rats, or house cats if given the opportunity. Overall, the most frequently consumed meats seem to be insects, spiders,carrion, small reptiles, amphibians, eggs, and juvenile mammals.
Why Do Wild Turkeys Sometimes Eat Meat?
There are several key reasons why wild turkeys supplement their herbivorous diets with meat:
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Protein for growth: Poults require lots of protein, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. Animal foods provide concentrated nutrition perfect for rapid development.
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Winter survival: Carrion and mammal prey provide essential protein and fat when insect availability is low in cold months.
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Opportunism: Turkeys capitalize on any easily captured, abundant meat sources. A vulnerable nest or carcass nearby is hard to resist.
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Variation: Eating diverse foods likely provides nutritional balance and environmental adaptation. An omnivorous diet gives turkeys dietary flexibility.
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Taste preferences: Turkeys seem to enjoy the flavor of certain meats like insects, eggs, and carrion. These foods get preferentially consumed when found.
Key Takeaways on Wild Turkey Meat Consumption
Turkeys Eat Hard and Soft Mast
Many a fall turkey hunter has been frustrated by turkey flocks that seem easy to pattern in September, but then disappear in October. Deer hunters know that keeping tabs on whitetails can be maddening when the acorns are falling during a good mast year, but nomadic flocks of turkeys can be even more hit and miss in the Eastern hardwoods based on the food preferences. When mast, both hard and soft, suddenly becomes available, turkeys will find and key in on it.
Wild turkeys will feast on hard and soft mast in fall. (Photo/Adobe Stock)
Like whitetails, turkeys seem to prefer white oak acorns over all the rest. But they relish beech nuts, too, which hit the ground in early to mid-October in the eastern hill country. Mast isnât limited to tree nuts in the fall, either; turkeys eat blackberries, mulberries, and other soft mast in the spring and summer, too. Iâve often seen them gobbling up cedar berries during the spring season in the Nebraska Sandhills, and South Texas turkey hunters know that tiny chiltepin peppers draw in Rio Grande gobblers like Baptists to a buffet. Â
What Do Turkeys Eat? Four Favorite Foods
Being adapted to live about anywhere (wild turkeys are found in every state except Alaska, as well as Mexico, Central America, and southern Canada), turkeys have a highly varied diet that changes according to the climate and the season. Generally speaking, though, wild turkeys have a handful of favorite foods theyâll key in on no matter where they live. Whatâs more, turkey hunters who know about these favorites, whether itâs by typing âwhat do turkeys eatâ into Google or not, will have a leg up when it comes to finding birds to hunt. So here are four key foods that turkeys eat and that turkey hunters should be on the lookout for.
Why Don’t We Eat Turkey Eggs!
FAQ
Do wild turkeys eat animals?
Wild turkeys eat insects and other small animals, so they are predators, in a sense, but they become the prey of other birds, reptiles or mammals. Predator-prey relationships have evolved over thousands of years. Predators are usually opportunistic feeders. They look for the easiest way to a meal.
Are wild turkeys carnivorous?
Turkeys are omnivores. Adults eat acorns, leaves, buds, seeds, fruits, waste grains, and insects. Young turkeys (poults) mostly rely on protein rich insects. Wild turkeys spend most of the daylight hours on the ground with other turkeys in a flock.
Are wild turkeys meat eaters?
Turkeys are naturally omnivorous, eating a diverse variety of plants, insects, and worms. They forage and explore in their native habitats, accessing a varied diet that gives them the nutrients they need to survive and grow.
What is the favorite food for wild turkeys?
Sunflower, milo, and millet are all enjoyable types of seeds to put out for wild turkeys. Nuts- Acorns are a chosen favorite for wild turkeys. But in the wintertime, acorns can become scarce. Beech and hickory nuts are a great alternative.
What do wild turkeys eat?
They will mostly eat plant matter they forage for on the ground, and sometimes they will climb into shrubs and other low trees to look for fruits. On occasion, they will consume small reptiles and amphibians. But like most bird species, wild turkeys are opportunists, meaning, they will sample any food that is readily available.
Can turkeys eat meat?
Yes, they can. Turkeys are omnivores and that means they eat animal and vegetable matter. Turkeys can eat all kinds of fresh meat, be it from mammals, other birds, reptiles, amphibians, or insects.
Are turkeys omnivores?
Raising turkeys is no different, but what most people don’t know is just how varied a turkey’s diet can be. Turkeys are omnivores, and they eat all kinds of plant and animal matter naturally. However, as varied as their diet is, they can’t eat quite everything, and some things are bad for them.
Do wild turkeys eat insects?
Wild turkeys do consume insects. Wild turkeys eat a lot of insects. They scrape and peck all day for grasshoppers, beetles, snails, caterpillars, and ticks. Do wild turkeys eat meat?
What vegetables do turkeys eat?
Turkeys are surprisingly adept at finding and digging up tubers and other root veggies of all kinds. Potatoes, wild carrots, wild onions, cassava, yams, and more are all excellent sources of energy, vitamins, and minerals for them.
What can a Turkey eat on a healthy diet?
Here are some healthy options: Grains like corn, wheat, oats, barley, rice, and millet can make up the bulk of a domestic turkey’s diet. Whole grains provide carbs and fiber. Table scraps like stale bread, pasta, and baked goods are relished by turkeys. But avoid too many leftovers high in fat, salt, or sugar.