NUTRITIONAL-EVALUATION OF WINTER FOODS OF WILD TURKEYS

Red oak acorns (Quercus rubra), fruits of multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), common juniper (Juniper communis), winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata), and barberry (Berberis spp.), fertile fronds of sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis), corn, and apples were fed as mixed rations to eight eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris). Crude protein content of the foods ranged from 2 (apples) to 19% (sensitive fern). Red oak acorns and juniper berries were 14% fat; other foods were 1-7% fat. Apples were lowest in gross energy content (3.9 kcal/g dry matter (1 cal = 4.1868 J)), and sensitive fern was highest (5.5 kcal/g). Little variation existed in nutrient composition and energy content of the mixed diets. Metabolizable energy values of the diets ranged from 65 to 84% of gross energy intake and from 3.1 to 4.0 kcal/g. Solution of simultaneous equations based on the mixed-diet data yielded metabolizable energy values of individual foods; juniper had the highest metabolizable energy (4.6 kcal/g) and sensitive fern the lowest (2.1 kcal/g); other foods ranged from 3.3 to 4.1 kcal/g. Acorns, corn, and shrubs with persistent fruits (juniper, winterberry, barberry, and multiflora rose) were the most nutritious foods. Metabolizable energy intake of the mixed diets, excluding the juniper-dominated diet, approximated or exceeded the predicted daily energy expenditure of wild turkeys.