Turkey is a species of bird that looks like a chicken. They are a kind of wild bird living in the forest. However, at present many of them are domesticated. In today’s article, we will discuss turkeys.
Do turkeys migrate?
Usually, the wild turkeys do not migrate. They live in dense forest vegetation during the winter where the cold is relatively low. They do not like to travel around much at this time. They can often survive for more than 2 weeks without food in adverse conditions such as harsh colds and snow.
Table of Contents
Turkeys are not migratory in terms of characteristics or habits like the other birds. The reason why turkeys never migrate in winter is that they cannot fly very far and are forced to live in their territory.
They are accustomed to adapting to the changing environment without leaving their habitat in the face of adverse effects of nature. To survive in the cold, they choose forested areas and live in large trees where the cold is relatively low.
If there is a shortage of food in such an environment, they spend their days without eating. But they do not leave their homes in search of food or a suitable environment for endurance.
Since their fins are very thin, they are not very effective in protecting them from the cold. Usually, before winter comes, they accumulate a lot of food and accumulate body fat which helps to keep their body warm even in the excessive cold.
During the winter evenings, they live on the branches of tall trees to escape the onslaught of predators on land. Although they can’t fly very far, they can fly just as high as climbing a tree branch. Turkey’s adaptability to different seasons is discussed below:
In the winter:
Because turkeys are heavy, they cannot fly very far. In winter, birds usually travel thousands of miles to other areas to survive winter. But in the case of Turkey, that is not possible, so he has to fight to survive in this hostile environment.
They accumulate body fat by eating a lot of food towards the end of summer which helps them to keep their body warm in winter.
Do turkeys hibernate?
Turkeys hibernate by roosting. The process is after they choose a certain branch of a tree to live in during winter. They keep roosting for the next two weeks when there is outermost cold and snow.
As they have gained a lot of fats in their body, they try to use the fats to keep their body warm. They also trap the air pockets in their body that prevents the air from passing into their body. Their natural behavior is to go without food for the next two weeks.
This will help them to tolerate the excessive cold as well as reduce the excessively gained fat by not eating.
Do turkeys move in the cold or stay in the same area?
During the winter, the snow covers up everywhere. Since the turkeys are unable to fly long distances, they try to find a better place or shelter where it will be less cold inside their territory.
For this, they choose trees covered with leaves that will protect them from snow and the outermost cold. They can resist excessive cold by gaining excess fat during the end of summer by eating so that the fat can keep them warm.
When the winter and snowfall begin, the turkeys start roosting and stand there still for around two weeks. They usually starve during this period. That is why they lose the excess fat and still manage to live.
How do turkeys survive in the winter?
Winter is the hardest time to survive for Turkeys. This is because at this time they mourn from malnutrition, fail to travel from one place to another, get sick from the effects of intense cold, and lose weight.
Because turkeys are heavy, and their feathers are soft, they cannot fly long distances. Due to this, the turkeys have to go beyond their tolerance in this cold weather and survive by fighting with nature.
Most turkeys succumb to this cruelty of nature. But they still have some ways to adapt and survive by adapting to the hostile environment in their habitat.
They prepare themselves before winter arrives, they compulsively gain weight to keep themselves warm and build shelters in special places to survive the winter.
The following is a detailed discussion of ways to survive in Turkey’s cold and unfavorable weather:
They go on a roost:
This is one of the very popular techniques that the turkeys use to survive during the winter. They prepare themselves before winter and choose a higher place, such as the branch of a tree to live.
The trees usually cover them from snow and prevent getting attacked by predator animals. When they find the right place, they roost there for one to two weeks. Roosting is like sleeping or standing still for a long time.
During the snowfall or severe cold, they go on roosting and eat a very small portion of food during the day.
They fatten themselves up:
Before winter arrives, turkeys start preparing themselves. As a part of the preparation, they a lot of food and gain a lot of fat in their body.
As a result, the fat in their body keeps them warm from excessive cold. Moreover, their feathers are so thin that they cannot protect themselves from the cold.
How cold can turkeys tolerate?
Turkeys are very common animals and they can survive at normal temperatures. Although their wings are thin, they are abundant in the body, which helps them to survive in a hostile environment and cold weather.
Turkeys survive normally at temperatures of 40 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. They can control their body temperature through breathing which other animals cannot.
However, in winter their movement is limited and they do not leave the shelter. Their cold tolerance is described below:
Domestic turkeys:
In cases of domestic turkeys, they like to stay in their natural habitat inside the farm during winter They are very strong and can tolerate drastic cold.
During winter, it is better to provide them with a good amount of nutrition to let them grow some excess fat. It will enable them to use and burn during winter and keep their body warm.
Wild turkeys:
Wild turkeys can survive excessive cold and snow. They are heavy and their feathers are thin. So, they cannot fly to another region to avoid cold, rather they stay in their place and try to adapt to the environment.
They use their body fat to keep their body warm during winter and hide under the branch of trees.
How cold is too cold for turkeys? Can they freeze?
Turkeys are very strong when it comes to tolerating lower temperatures. They use their body fat to keep their body warm during winter. Generally, turkeys are okay with temperatures between 40 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which is room temperature.
But, temperature below 20 degrees Fahrenheit is lower than a turkey’s temperature tolerance level.
The turkeys do not freeze during winter while roosting. But if the temperature keeps going down for a long time, they might become freeze.
They can survive up to two weeks without eating or eating a very little portion of food. If they get enough resources or food to eat, they can withstand intense cold.
Do turkeys move in the rain and wind?
During rain, the turkeys go roosting for a longer period. Turkeys avoid staying inside the branches of trees while it is raining. They fly down to an open field or a place.
The turkeys try to remain calm and still during rain because the sound of rain reduces their hearing.
On the other hand, the relatively moderate wind doesn’t bother the turkeys that much. But gusts of wind usually force them to fly from one place to another. So, the turkeys can’t adjust to rainfall or wind.
It will approach them to leave their natural habitat and start to roost in an open field or surface.
Do turkeys move at night?
Turkeys don’t tend to move at night. They spend most of the daytime roaming around in the ground but they are likely to move during the evening to avoid attack by any predator animal.
So, they sleep to spend the rest of the night there. During winter, in the daylight, they try to find the best spot, which is the branch of trees.
Before the sun goes down, they fly up to the branches of leaves to cover themselves from the outermost cold and heavy snow as well hide from any approaching predator animal.
Final Thoughts
Turkeys have an indefinite capability of tolerating lower temperatures and harsh colds. As these birds cannot fly to another place due to heavyweight and thinner feathers, they try to adapt to the environment by using their body fat and flying higher to the tree branches using as a shelter.