What are the differences between domestic and wild turkeys?
Domestic turkeys are very closely related to wild turkeys. The differences mainly involve personality and temperament, as well as physical features like size and feather color.
Most breeds of domestic turkey were created for the food industry, so they have different distributions of musculature and fat than their wild counterparts. Domestic turkeys are often big and too heavy to fly, whereas wild turkeys are great fliers, so their bodies tend to be leaner and nimbler. In fact, wild turkeys are capable of flying at speeds up to 54 miles (86 kilometers) per hour!
Where do the nearest wild turkeys live?
Eastern wild turkeys are fairly common in woodland areas throughout the Eastern United States, including in the Washington, D.C. area. In fact, a small population lives nearby in Rock Creek Park. They like to roost in the tall trees near the Zoo. In fact, just a few weeks ago, our girls heard a wild turkey calling from a tree outside the Bird House!
Zoo guests probably won’t see many wild turkeys roaming the park because unlike our girls, those birds tend to be shy around humans. But we do occasionally get calls from Zoo visitors who see a wild turkey and think they’re one of ours.
What role do turkeys play in their environment?
They’re wonderful pest managers. Both wild and domestic turkeys eat ticks, mosquitoes, grasshoppers and other bugs that can be destructive to both commercial crops and local flora. Farmers will rotate their domestic turkeys through crop fields to help reduce the number of pests on their land. Wild turkeys also help shape the landscape by consuming and defecating seeds throughout their habitat, which helps plants and other wildlife thrive.
What do the Zoo’s turkeys eat?
Our turkeys eat a specially formulated pellet diet provided by the Zoo’s Department of Nutrition, but they also eat fresh produce and treats! They love greens, corn, peas and especially carrots… and I mean, they really love the carrots. Our turkeys also get mealworms, but they prefer to hunt and forage for worms and grubs that live in the grassy parts of their yard.
In the wild, turkeys eat pretty much anything. They are omnivores, and eat fruits, grasses, insects, nuts, seeds, spiders, snails and occasionally small animals. You might see them in foraging flocks along forest edges and roadsides.
What are the challenges of caring for turkeys?
Well, they’re very curious birds. If I’m cleaning the pool or raking the yard, they’re often right there next to me. They like to get in your way. They want your full attention all the time.
And if they’re curious about something, they’ll walk right up to it and give it a few pecks. But because they’re so curious about everything, this means they love to tear up the yard and rip up the plants. We end up doing a lot of maintenance and landscaping in their yard!
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November 20, 2023 at 08:40PM
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Talking Turkey: Q&A With a Bird House Keeper - Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
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