Thursday, November 24, 2011

What to feed turkeys

This may be a funny question to ask on Thanksgiving but, we have a Wild Turkey visiting our bird feeder and I’d like to feed her. She’s interesting to watch. What do they prefer to eat?

Turkeys are fun to observe! Wild turkeys like open areas for feeding, mating and habitat. They use forested areas as cover from predators and for roosting in trees at night. A varied habitat of both open and covered area is essential for wild turkey survival. If you live in a suitable area you may find turkeys frequenting your bird feeders in the early morning and late afternoon.

Wild Turkeys are omnivorous, foraging for nuts as well as various seeds, berries, roots, grasses and insects. Turkeys also occasionally consume amphibians and small reptiles like snakes. If you want to feed Wild Turkeys, I would recommend our Wild Birds Unlimited Wildlife Blend. It’s a nice mixture of peanuts, sunflower seed and corn. Our Choice Harvest Blend also has enough tree nuts, sunflower seeds, dried cherries, and suet nuggets to satisfy any turkey as well as a wide variety of other birds.

Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
The birds have a naked blue/red head, dark glossy, iridescent body feathers, and a barred copper colored tail. The males are brighter than the females and have a central breast tassel and red wattles on the face and neck. The adult males, known as toms or gobblers, normally weigh between 16 and 24 pounds while the females, known as hens, usually weigh between 8 and 10 pounds.

Once common throughout Michigan, the turkey population is starting to recover from overhunting and loss of habitat in the 20th century. A group of turkeys has many collective nouns, including a "crop", "dole", "gang", "posse", and "raffle" of turkeys.

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