Wild Turkeys on Southeastern Farms 

 and Woodlands 



By Dale H. Arner ' and Verne E. Davison, biologists, Soil Conservation Service 



The wild turkey is native to the East- 

 ern and Southwestern States and is the 

 origin of our domestic turkeys. This 

 large game bird stands 3 feet high. Hens 

 weigh from 8 to 12 pounds, gobblers 12 

 to 20 pounds. Heavier birds are excep- 

 tional, and lighter ones are usually poults. 



In the Southeast much of the wild 

 turkey range is privately owned, but 

 some is in State and Federal forests and 

 game preserves. Whether the land is un- 

 der private or public ownership, it can usu- 

 ally be improved for wild turkey habitat. 



If you want a high turkey population 

 you will need to manage your land to 

 (1) produce more turkey food in wood- 

 land and in open areas; (2) provide de- 

 pendable and well-distributed drinking 

 water; (3) maintain favorable cover, in- 

 cluding suitable roosting trees; and (4) 

 protect the turkeys. This leaflet explains 

 how these can be done. 



Natural Habitat of Wild Turkeys 



Turkeys are found in extensive wood- 

 land areas— usually oak or mixed oak 

 and pine. Good cover for turkeys in- 

 cludes trees 6 or more inches in diam- 

 eter and at least 30 feet high. The 

 birds roost in trees— usually in the 

 largest ones— and frequently in trees in 

 swamps. Woodland should have an 

 open understory since turkeys do not 

 range well through heavy undergrowth. 



Much wild turkey food comes from 

 trees such as oaks, pines, beech, and 

 flowering dogwood. Turkeys also feed 

 in woodland clearings where grasshop- 

 pers, crickets, cicadas, and plant foods 

 such as berries, fruits, and grass seeds 



1 Now with Mississippi State College, Stark- 

 ville, Miss. 



are abundant. And they feed on the 

 tender green grasses and legumes that 

 grow in clearings. Turkeys drink daily, 

 usually from surface waters. 



In a natural woodland habitat a flock 

 of wild turkeys usually ranges over a 

 tract of 5,000 to 10,000 acres. With 

 dependable water sources, choice foods, 

 and good roosting trees, you can attract 

 and maintain a turkey flock on tracts of 

 500 to 2,000 acres. 



A natural turkey range seldom has all 

 of the qualities needed for a high popu- 

 lation. How much you improve it de- 

 pends on what is lacking and how hard 

 you are willing to work. 



An improved turkey range of wood- 

 land or brushland should be at least 500 

 acres and include some hardwoods. It 

 should also have a few acres of open 

 land that can be cultivated. Then you 

 can improve the open and wooded areas 

 to provide better food, shelter, and water. 

 If you own a few hundred acres of fa- 

 vorable turkey range next to extensive 

 forest land, your chances of successful 

 turkey production are promising. 



Choice Wild Turkey Foods 



Wild turkeys feed on acorns, nuts, 

 seeds, fruits, tubers, and greens and on 

 insects and other small animals. In late 

 fall, winter, and spring, wild turkeys 

 prefer: Acorns, beechnuts, chinkapins, 

 chufas, corn, flowering dogwood berries, 

 wild grapes, hickory nuts, seeds of cab- 

 bage palmetto and sawpalmetto, pine 

 seeds, and plants that provide green 

 grazing— barley, bromegrass (smooth, 

 rescue, and chess), clover (button, crim- 

 son, red, and white), oats, rye, ryegrass, 

 and winter wheat. 



In summer and early fall, turkeys pre- 



Warning: Recommendations for use of pesticides are reviewed 

 regularly. The registrations on all suggested uses of pesticides in this 

 publication were in effect at press time. Check with your county agri- 

 cultural agent or state agricultural experiment station to determine if 

 these recommendations are still current. 



