07/01/2026
Turkey poults need a high-protein diet during their first few weeks of life to grow feathers and muscle and develop the strength needed to fly. To meet their estimated requirement of about 28% crude protein, poults often begin feeding on invertebrates soon after leaving the nest.
But what role does plant material, particularly seeds, play in a young poult’s MSU Extension Gamebird Program is doing a collaborative research project with the MSU Deer Lab to examine what pre-flight turkey poults consume while foraging in differently managed food plots and old fields. More than half of the poults in our feeding trials consume invertebrates, but an even greater proportion eat plant material, including leaves, small twigs, and seeds.
Are poults primarily selecting invertebrates to meet their protein needs, or does their diet shift among available foods depending on vegetation structure, accessibility, and ease of movement?
A poult’s diet can tell us a great deal about the quality of brood-rearing cover. This research will help us better understand turkey poult diets and guide management of plant communities that provide safe, navigable foraging cover, support diverse invertebrate communities, and produce seeds that poults may consume as they grow and prepare to fly.
