What a delight to spy this adorable baby Wild Turkey in mid-September. Based on its size, I think it is only about three weeks old, which is very late in the season for poults.

At one point the hen and poult were separated and they were softly vocalizing back and forth to each other. The poult then flew into a low lying tree branch. Poults learn to fly early on in life to keep safe from predators.

Wild Turkey poults eat a wide variety of insects and gradually begin to include nuts, seeds, and berries. Watch how the hen is teaching the poult how to forage. I think the poult is taking an insect from the hen’s beak but I can’t tell for sure if it is berry or bug.

Wild Turkey Mom looking for her poult