Should We Feed Turkeys?

Wild animals don't need your help to live. If they did, they wouldn't have survived before people were on the scene. But people like to see wildlife. Many people have bird feeders just so they can see wild birds up close and personal. So should we feed turkeys because we'd like to see them up close? That depends on whether it harms the turkey. Here are some things to consider.

If you feed turkeys close to your house, you take the chance they will become accustomed to you. Your dog, or car, can become a real threat to them if the birds don't see them as dangers.

If you do get a lot of turkeys to come to your feeding site, you increase the chance they could catch a disease or parasite that another turkey has; predators will know that turkeys hang out at the feeding site and will become prey; you may find you don't really like lots of large, sometimes noisy birds around your house, or their droppings.

If you really want to help turkeys, help protect their habitat. Look at the management section of this site for details: New Hamphsire Fish and Wildlife Turkey Profile.