What Do Wild Turkeys Eat?

Don McCullough/CC-BY-2.0

Wild turkeys are opportunistic omnivores, which means they eat a wide variety of plant and animal life, depending on what is available. Some of the staples of their diet include green leaves, grass, seeds, fruit, berries, corn, wheat, snails, worms, frogs and insects.

Wild turkeys forage for their food. They most frequently feed in the early morning and late afternoon. Usually they scratch for food with both feet on the ground, but sometimes they pluck leaves or fruit directly from plants. Occasionally they even roost in trees while they eat. Some factors that influence their specific diet include their location, the season of the year and their age as young turkeys eat a larger percentage of insects to expedite their growth.