The poults begin flying and roosting in the trees in about two weeks. Summer flocks still frequent forest edges and openings, and break down into three types. Family flocks, that consist of brood hens and their poults, adult broodless hen flocks, and male flocks that have rejoined. Family flocks may merge to form flocks if thirty or more birds, and may have a forage area of several hundred acres. Broodless hens may also join the family flocks.
Flocks withdraw deeper into the woods during the fall.
At this time the poults begin to reach adult size and another breakdown of the flocks takes place. Each flock has a hierarchy with the dominant bird being superior and the others occupying a rank beneath it. Jakes and janes go through their first molt to acquire their adult plumage. In the winter the flocks withdraw into sheltered areas like pine stands, and wooded creek bottoms. The birds tend to be fairly sedentary.