During the spring and summer, they feed on insects, berries, green leaves and grass seeds. You ll often see turkeys in fields of alfalfa searching for insects. Favorite insects include grasshoppers, beetles, and ants. Other favorite plant foods include dogwood fruits, wild grape, cherry, blue grasses, sedges, vibernums, blueberry, blackberry, buttercups and violets. During the fall and winter, turkeys feed more on acorns and fruits of trees like oak, hop hornbeam, maple, ash, pine, and beech.
Turkeys also seek out corn, wheat, oats, and other grains in farm fields.
They eat a lot in late winter to store up food reserves for the breeding season. Hens eat snails and other sources of calcium and minerals to help them produce eggs. The wild turkey lives mostly in the woods. They need large trees, which provide a dependable food source and provide safe roosting sites up off the ground. They especially like oak trees.