Tomato is one of the most famous vegetables around the world. It is consumed by humans and all kinds of animals. Several recipes of tomatoes are also popular in the cuisine world.
Today, we are going to discuss whether turkeys can eat tomatoes or not.
Can turkeys eat tomatoes?
Turkeys can eat tomatoes as they are omnivorous animals. But tomatoes can not be a part of a turkey’s daily diet. Tomatoes work best as an occasional treat for turkeys. Turkeys should be fed tomatoes as part of a salad containing other vegetables and fruits along with tomatoes.
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Let’s talk about different varieties of tomatoes and see if turkeys can eat them or not.
Cherry tomatoes:
Cherry tomatoes are one of the most famous varieties of tomatoes. This variety is good at producing sweet tomatoes. This sweet variety of tomatoes works as a treat for turkeys. They can eat cherry tomatoes.
But you will have to mix the cherry tomatoes with other vegetables and fruits and serve it as a salad.
Cherry tomatoes are rich in vitamins A, C, and E. They also contain a lot of minerals. These food nutrients are good for turkeys. Cherry tomatoes can be a great occasional treat for turkeys. They enjoy the sweetness of cherry tomatoes.
Cherry tomatoes can build the bone strength of turkeys too.
Tomato plants:
Turkeys can eat tomatoes. But they can not and should not eat tomato plants. Tomato plants are toxic to turkeys. Eating tomato plants will cause severe health problems in turkeys. Tomato plants fall in the category of nightshade plants.
Tomato plants have alkaloids in them which can make turkeys sick.
Turkeys can lose appetite if they eat tomato plants. Their heart will become weak over time if they continue eating tomato plants. This can even cause breathing issues in turkeys. So you should never feed tomato plants to a turkey.
It is not wise to leave tomato plants unprotected if you have a turkey. They will unknowingly eat the tomato plants along with the tomatoes. Tomatoes are safe for turkeys to eat while tomato plants are not.
Do these turkeys eat tomatoes?
Let’s look at some kinds of turkeys and see if they can tomatoes or not.
Baby turkeys:
Baby turkeys need a protein-based diet at the initial stage. It is not wise to feed tomatoes to baby turkeys when they are too small. After they grow up a little, you can feed tomatoes to baby turkeys occasionally.
Wild baby turkeys especially need natural vegetables and fruits for their growth. Tomatoes can be fed to baby turkeys as a mixed salad.
But baby turkeys should not be fed tomato plants. Tomato plants are toxic for them. The leaves of tomato plants can make them sick.
Wild turkeys:
Wild turkeys are omnivorous animals by nature. It means they need both meat and vegetables on their diet. Wild turkeys will absolutely eat anything and they certainly enjoy eating tomatoes. Tomatoes work as a wonderful occasional treat for wild turkeys.
Although wild turkeys can eat tomatoes, they can not eat tomato plants. Tomato plants are toxic to wild turkeys and will definitely make them sick.
Domestic turkeys:
Domestic turkeys have a different diet than wild turkeys. But even after that, one thing common between these two is that both of them can eat tomatoes. Domestic turkeys enjoy the sweet taste of tomatoes.
You can feed tomatoes to domestic turkeys as an occasional treat. You will need to turn the tomato into a salad by mixing it with other fruits and vegetables.
But domestic turkeys can not eat tomato plants. So if you have a tomato plant in your garden, it would be better to put a fence around it so that your domestic turkeys can not eat it. Otherwise, they will get sick if they manage to eat tomato plants.
4 reasons why turkeys will eat tomatoes
Turkeys can not eat tomato plants. But they can certainly eat tomatoes. Here are the reasons why turkeys will eat tomatoes:
Turkeys are omnivorous:
Turkeys are omnivorous animals by nature. This gives them a rich diet that contains both meat and vegetable. Turkeys will eat tomatoes as part of their herbivore needs. They enjoy eating tomatoes as an occasional treat. You can feed tomatoes to turkeys as a salad.
Sweetness of tomatoes:
Tomato is known as a vegetable but it is actually a fruit. And as a fruit, it has a sweet taste that turkeys enjoy. The sweetness of tomatoes is the reason why turkeys will try to eat tomatoes on a daily basis.
Elements of tomatoes:
Tomatoes are rich in vitamins and minerals. They are severely beneficial for the overall health of turkeys. They contain vitamins A, C & E, and Potassium(K). That is why tomatoes are a great occasional addition to a turkey’s diet.
Availability of tomatoes:
Tomatoes are an easy-to-grow vegetable. You can grow them in your garden and feed them to the turkeys. You can also buy them from vegetable stores at a cheap price.
This availability and affordability of the tomatoes make them a popular occasional treat for turkeys.
How many tomatoes can a turkey eat?
There is not an exact amount of tomatoes that a turkey will eat. Turkeys are famous as foodies in terms of species of birds. They are good at eating absolutely anything. And the important thing to remember here is that tomatoes should be fed as an occasional treat to turkeys.
Tomatoes should not be part of a turkey’s daily diet.
Turkeys are omnivorous animals. So they eat meat, vegetables, and fruits in abundance. Tomatoes need to be mixed with other vegetables and fruits and have to be fed as a salad to turkeys. Turkeys consume approximately half a cup of food every day.
Tomato as an occasional treat is going to be a small part of that amount.
But it is better not to feed a whole tomato to turkeys. Whole tomatoes are not good for turkeys as they contain more vitamins and minerals than turkeys need. They should eat tomatoes in small portions as part of a healthy salad.
Tomatoes basically fulfill the herbivorous needs of turkeys.
How to feed turkeys tomatoes?
There are several steps involved when it comes to feeding tomatoes to turkeys. They are:
Pick ripe tomatoes:
You will need to pick ripe tomatoes from your garden or buy them from the market. The redness and softness of the tomatoes will indicate their ripeness. Turkeys prefer tomatoes because of their sweet taste. That is why it is important to pick ripe tomatoes.
Unripe tomatoes would not be as sweet as ripe tomatoes.
Cut the tomatoes into pieces:
Next, you will have to cut the tomatoes into small pieces. The small pieces will make it easier for turkeys to consume them. Turkeys will struggle to eat large pieces of tomatoes.
Make a salad:
Tomatoes should not be a daily part of a turkey’s diet. Tomatoes should be fed to a turkey as an occasional treat. You will need to turn the tomatoes into a salad by mixing them with other fruits and vegetables.
Serve it in a bowl:
After making the salad, you will have to serve it in a bowl in order to feed the turkey. If you have only one pet turkey, then you can serve salad to it in a small bowl.
If you have a turkey farm and have lots of turkeys in it, then it is better to serve the salad in a large bowl which can be accessible by all the turkeys.
Control the amount:
You will need to make sure that you are not feeding too many tomatoes to your turkey. Turkeys do not need tomatoes on their daily diet. So you will have to refrain from feeding tomatoes to turkeys on a daily basis. It is wise to feed them tomatoes once a month.
What vegetables can turkeys eat?
Turkeys can not consume all types of vegetables. You have to know the vegetables turkeys can eat before you set a turkey diet. Let’s take a look at the list of vegetable turkeys can eat.
- Cucumbers
- Pumpkins
- Lettuces
- Eggplants
- Cauliflowers
- Broccolis
- Tomatoes
- Asparaguses
- Brussels sprouts
- Bell peppers
- Cabbages
- Beets
- Carrots
Final Thoughts
One can feed tomatoes to turkeys. Even though turkeys can eat tomatoes, they can not eat tomato plant as it is toxic to turkeys. Tomatoes should be mixed with other fruits and vegetables and fed to turkeys occasionally. Tomatoes contain vitamins and minerals which can fasten the growth of turkeys.