South Carolina Wild
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact
  • Submit
  • Student Resources
    • What is SCDNR?
    • Scholarship Opportunities
    • Camps
    • Need a license?
    • Volunteer
    • Announcements
  • Archive
  • Outdoor Adventures
  • Go Green
  • Shooting Sports
  • Gone Fishin’
  • Word to the Wise
  • Announcements
35K Followers
South Carolina Wild
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact
  • Submit
  • Student Resources
    • What is SCDNR?
    • Scholarship Opportunities
    • Camps
    • Need a license?
    • Volunteer
    • Announcements
  • Archive
  • Field Guide
  • Hunt
  • Learn

What’s the difference between domesticated and wild turkeys?

  • 3 minute read

There are many who think about the crisp, spring air that surrounds the beginning of a good turkey hunting season. But perhaps, for a much larger population of people, when one thinks of a turkey, they think about being surrounded by their loved ones and are reminded of all the things they are thankful for.

Not only are we talking about two completely different seasons, but we are also talking about two completely different birds.

While bearing the same species name, Domestic and Wild Turkeys share little else in common.

In preparation for this Thanksgiving season, here are some things you probably didn’t know about turkeys.

Domestic and Wild Turkeys have different feather colors.

The easiest distinction between a wild turkey or a domestic turkey is simply what color its feathers are. Wild Turkeys have the deep, rich brown and black feathers that most people associate with turkeys. In completely opposite fashion, domestic turkeys are normally white in color, an intentional product of domestication because white pin feathers are less noticeable on the carcass.

“Wood Smarts” vs. “Not-so-smart”

Wild turkeys are able to survive in the woods amongst predators a many. With acute eyesight, the ability to catch speeds of 55 mph while in flight, the wild turkey is much better suited to the woods than its cousin, the domestic turkey, who has lost its instincts and physical attributes for survival in the wild.

Turkeys have been domesticated for centuries

Turkey relics dating as far back as 25 A.D. suggest that Native Americans domesticated turkeys before Europeans ever set foot on the continent and that turkey-raising may well be one of the oldest forms of organized meat production in the Northern Hemisphere.

Spanish explorers took Mexican wild turkeys domesticated by the Aztecs home to Europe in about 1519 where they spread rapidly through Europe and were introduced in England between 1524 and 1541 and became highly sought after for gourmet dinners.

After the domestic turkey spread across Europe in the 1500s, the colonists who settled the New World brought these tasty birds with them across the Atlantic back to the land of their origin.

Restoration of Wild Turkey populations is one of South Carolina’s conservation successes

Restoration of the wild turkey in South Carolina is one of the Palmetto State’s most noteworthy conservation success stories. Limited by the early 1900s to small pockets of birds in the Lowcountry’s Francis Marion National Forest and along the Savannah River swamps, the wild turkey is now widespread throughout South Carolina and a spring hunting season is held in all of the state’s 46 counties (there is no fall season). Wild turkey restoration was made possible through the efforts of the SCDNR, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the forest products industry, private landowners, and South Carolina sportsmen and sportswomen.

It’s illegal to release pen-raised turkeys

State law prohibits the release of pen-raised turkeys due to the possibility of introducing disease and the danger of contaminating the wild turkey gene pool. But going back to the lack of “wood smarts” of their wild cousins, domestic turkeys generally fall prey to a host of hungry predators such as bobcats, foxes or coyotes before getting a chance to breed with native birds.

Regardless of which you think of when you hear the word “turkey,” we hope you have a healthy and happy Thanksgiving this year!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on South Carolina Wild are solely those of the authors, and do not reflect official policies, positions, or endorsements of activity or products by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Share
Tweet
Pin it
Related Topics
  • National Wild Turkey Federation
  • Thanksgiving
  • Wild Turkeys
Previous Article
  • Explore
  • Learn
  • Our Efforts

Saving Bald Rock

View Post
Next Article
  • How We Outdoors
  • Hunt
  • Learn

Thomas Caughman Memorial Veterans Hunt 2021

View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • How We Outdoors
  • Hunt
  • Learn

Thomas Caughman Memorial Veterans Hunt 2021

View Post
  • Explore
  • Learn
  • Our Efforts

Saving Bald Rock

View Post
  • Features
  • Field Guide
  • Friends of SCDNR
  • Go Green
  • Word to the Wise

The Diamondback Terrapin

View Post
  • How We Outdoors
  • Hunt
  • Learn

How to have a safe and successful dove hunt

View Post
  • Explore
  • Fish
  • How We Outdoors
  • Learn

Setting Expectations, Not Hooks

View Post
  • Field Guide
  • Hunt
  • Learn
  • Our Efforts

Call your shots…

View Post
  • Friends of SCDNR
  • Learn

Coastal bird conservation continues as start date for Crab Bank restoration draws near

View Post
  • How We Outdoors
  • Hunt

Part II: Willie’s Last Retrieve — January 10, 2021

Archives
Did you know?

SCDNR affiliated programs like the Harry Hampton Wildlife fund, the National Archery in the Schools Program, South Carolina Envirothon, and SCDNR Youth Sporting Clay competition award scholarships each year. Check out what scholarships are available!

About Us

South Carolina Wild is an online publication sponsored by the SC Department of Natural Resources’ official magazine South Carolina Wildlife and the Harry Hampton Wildlife Fund.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed on South Carolina Wild are solely those of the authors, and do not reflect official policies, positions, or endorsements of activity or products by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

South Carolina Wild
  • SCDNR website
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER, prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, race, color, national origin, disability, religion or age. Direct all inquiries to the Office of Human Resources, PO Box 167, Columbia, SC 29202.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.