This Turkey Tuesday is about the process that all wild turkeys are going through right now – molting. Wild turkeys all across North America are replacing their feathers. That’s why a quick walk in the wild turkey’s world this time of year will have you finding feathers – often quite a few where birds dust, preen, and loaf. The process of replacing feathers is also why you’ll see turkeys this time of year that look a bit “rough”, as some feathers are worn and out of place, whereas others are brand new. Molting is energetically expensive and takes months to complete, so turkeys start this process right after the breeding season ends when they can allocate energy to things other than reproduction. And because feathers are comprised mostly of proteins called keratins, native plants that provide high protein content, such as legumes and various seeds are important food items for turkeys. Lastly, feather loss typically follows a pattern, wherein pairs of feathers are lost simultaneously – so a feather on one wing is replaced at the same time as the matching feather on the other wing – this is termed bilateral symmetry. The take home is the old adage “out with the old, in with the new” certainly applies to wild turkeys this time of year as they discard those worn feathers for new ones.
Pic of toms by Monte Loomis.
