Today the population is 17,000 to 18,000. Turkeys are present in every county. Turkeys forage on the ground in flocks, occasionally mounting shrubs and small trees. Acorns, beechnuts, cherries, and ash seeds are primary food sources. Seeds, berries, grasses, sedges and insects are important summer foods.
Turkeys eat corn, rye, oats, alfalfa, soybeans, millet, and buckwheat.
Grit is important. Poults eat mainly insects. Adult males gobble to attract females and to repel competing males. Both adults make a variety of noises - yelps, clucks, cackles, purrs, rattles, and gobbles. Wild Turkeys are polygamous.