How Long Do Turkeys Live?

The average lifespan of a wild turkey is between three and five years. Domestic turkeys live longer than wild turkeys. Captive turkeys can live for around ten years or even more, depending on the care they get from their owners. Domestic turkeys live longer than wild turkeys because they have better protection against predation.

They also enjoy a varied diet and good housing conditions, unlike wild turkeys that roost out in the cold and entirely depend on the food they forage in the wild.

The Average Lifespan of Turkeys

The average age of turkeys can differ depending on their prevailing living conditions. For instance, the average age of a wild turkey can be around 4 and 5 years. Captive turkeys’ average age can be about 7 to 10 years. The average age of a turkey consists of four stages. These stages include the egg, poult, and juvenile stages.

Factors Affecting a Turkey’s Lifespan

Many variables determine how long a turkey lives. Let’s delve into the factors that determine a turkey’s life expectancy.

Diet

A turkey’s nutritional intake has a significant impact on its lifespan. Turkeys consume various foods in the wild, including nuts, grasses, and seeds. Wild turkeys also feed on different natural foods, such as insects, fruits, tiny reptiles, and amphibians. Captive turkeys also require plenty of protein to live longer, particularly during their growing years.

A healthy diet allows a turkey to grow steadily, enabling the bird to live long. A turkey’s lifespan will diminish significantly if it doesn’t get a healthy diet. The better and more nutritious a turkey’s diet is, the longer the bird will live.

Environmental Conditions

Environmental conditions can have a considerable impact on a turkey’s lifespan. No wonder wild turkeys have a shorter lifespan than their captive counterparts because they are susceptible to unfavorable living conditions. A turkey will live for many years if it lives in an environment that offers access to food and protection from predators.

The more a turkey wanders searching for food, the more it is susceptible to environmental conditions that lower its lifespan. Turkeys in captivity live longer than wild turkeys because they aren’t vulnerable to unfavorable environmental conditions such as predation and hunting.

Wild turkeys can still live for several years if they live in environmental conditions that allow them access to healthy foods while getting protection from predators.

While captive turkeys can live longer than wild turkeys because of residing in favorable environmental conditions, these birds’ lifespans can be remarkably shorter if the captive birds live in poor environmental conditions.

Genetics

Genetic factors can have a considerable influence on a turkey’s life expectancy. Poor gene selection and breeding can lead to turkeys with walking difficulties. Such difficulties can make turkeys unable to compete for food with other healthy turkeys.

Offspring belonging to long-lived turkeys are likely to grow healthy and live longer than turkeys from short-lived parents. Young turkeys belonging to parents with a history of illnesses and physical deformities are less likely to live longer.

Breed

They are two main turkey breeds, namely heritage and hybrid breeds. Heritage breeds are the ancient breeds that farmers have been raising before the beginning of the massive industrialization of turkey farming. Hybrid turkey breeds result from crossing heritage breeds with other modern breeds to create fast-growing and large breeds.

While heritage breeds are slow-growing, these birds are healthier and more likely to live longer than their hybrid counterparts. Heritage turkeys are also more disease-resistant than hybrid species, so they can enjoy a longer lifespan than hybrid birds.

Health Condition

Diseases like fowl cholera, salmonella, and avian flu can affect the lifespan of a turkey. Turkeys that are susceptible to diseases are less likely to live longer. Some turkey diseases are highly contagious and difficult to prevent. Because of such devastating health conditions, infected turkey flocks die prematurely before reaching half the average lifespan of a turkey.

Predation

Predation is also a significant threat to a turkey’s lifespan. Turkeys aren’t flighty and can only fly for short distances when fleeing from predators. These birds are, therefore, likely to have a shorter lifespan when residing in predator-prone environments. Turkeys are a target of predators such as foxes, raccoons, and possums looking for an easy meal.

Providing a secure living environment for your turkeys can help prolong their lifespan. That’s why wild turkeys barely live half the lifespan of their captive counterparts since they are always at risk of predation.

Wild Turkeys’ Lifespan

A wild turkey’s lifespan is approximately three to four years. Nonetheless, some wild turkeys can live for up to seven years. The conditions in the wild don’t favor wild turkeys, so they can’t live for many years. For instance, all wild turkeys are at risk of predation, diseases, and hunting, which are inevitable when the birds live out in the wild.

Consequently, wild turkeys can live for a few years and they are unlikely to overcome the factors threatening their lifespan in the wild.

Domesticated Turkeys’ Lifespan

Captive or domesticated turkeys have a longer lifespan than wild turkeys. These turkeys get excellent care and are less vulnerable to predation risk. On average, the lifespan of a domesticated turkey is between five and ten years. Some heritage turkey breeds can live for over ten years.

Captive turkeys are also less prone to diseases, unlike wild turkeys, ultimately helping them live longer. Captive turkeys also enjoy a more varied diet, prompting them to live healthier and longer than wild turkeys.

How to Increase the Lifespan of Turkeys

Although turkeys’ average lifespan can vary depending on several variables, such as environmental conditions, diet, breed, and predation, turkey raisers can successfully increase the lifespan of their birds. Here is how to increase your turkeys’ lifespan.

Provide a High-quality Diet

Because diet can significantly influence a turkey’s lifespan, it’s good to ensure your turkeys get a high-quality diet. A varied diet is essential for growing turkeys because it helps them grow healthy and hardy. Giving your turkeys a diet consisting of various foods can help them grow healthier and live longer.

Turkeys have a higher protein intake requirement than ducks and chickens. Giving your baby turkeys loads of protein-rich foods can help kickstart their growth and development journey, enabling them to live several years past adulthood.

Mealworms, fishmeal, and cooked eggs are abundant protein sources that help turkeys grow healthy and live longer. Letting your turkeys free-range helps ensure the birds eat plenty of protein-rich insects to enhance their protein intake.

Turkeys also need a balanced diet with various trace minerals like iron, calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium, which are vital for turkeys overall health. Commercial turkey feed may lack these minerals, so you should supplement your turkeys’ diet with mineral supplements to help them live longer, healthier and happier.

Your turkeys’ diet should have plenty of vitamin-rich foods because vitamins can help strengthen turkeys’ immune systems, ultimately enabling them to combat diseases that jeopardize their lifespan.

Good Living Conditions

Living conditions can impact turkeys’ lifespan. Turkeys living in cramped and dirty enclosures won’t live longer than turkeys in clean and comfortable pens. When in good living conditions, turkeys can strengthen their immune systems, hearts, and bones. So, ensuring your turkeys live in good living conditions can help them live longer than the average lifespan for captive turkeys.

Be Wary of the Risk of Predation

Predation can significantly reduce the average lifespan of domestic turkeys. Although captive turkeys are at lower risk of predation than wild turkeys, these birds are still vulnerable to foxes, stray dogs, raccoons, and other predators while living in predator-prone areas. You can fence your yard to keep those ferocious predators from your flock if you want to raise turkeys for many years. You must also provide your flock with a secure, predator-proof cage to protect it from predators.

Treat Turkey Diseases

Although domesticated turkeys have fewer factors affecting their lifespan than wild turkeys, diseases can pose a real threat to their lifespan and overall health. Some conditions are fatal and highly contagious.

You can keep such diseases at bay by ensuring your flock gets prompt treatment when they exhibit early symptoms of various diseases. Vaccination will also protect your flock from disease outbreaks.

The Role of Genetics in Turkey’s Lifespan

Breeders breed turkeys intensively to boost their profitability, with little concern about how genetics affect turkeys’ health and well-being. However, genetics have a role in turkeys’ lifespan. For instance, turkey offspring from short-living parents have a genetic predisposition to live a few years. Even if you accord such turkeys excellent care, this genetic factor will make the birds live a few years.

Common Diseases That Affect Turkey Lifespan

Turkeys are prone to several diseases that can significantly affect their lifespan. As a turkey raiser, it’s essential to be aware of these common diseases and take preventive measures to keep your flock healthy and live a long, happy life.

Blackhead

Blackhead is a disease that turkeys get from ingesting eggs from caecal worms. The disease causes severe damage to a turkey’s gut, leading to death.

Prevention:

• Provide clean water and food to your turkeys.
• Control the population of earthworms in the turkeys’ environment.
• Minimize contact with other birds that may carry the disease.

Coccidiosis

Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease that destroys a turkey’s intestinal walls, leading to an inability to absorb nutrients, weight loss, and eventually death.

Prevention:

• Keep the turkeys’ living conditions clean and dry to minimize exposure to the parasite.
• Maintain a regular deworming program for your turkeys.
• Minimize contact with other birds that may carry the disease.

Erysipelas

Erysipelas is a bacterial disease that is a leading killer of turkeys globally. This disease causes lameness and poor bone development in turkeys, and it can cause sudden death.

Prevention:

• Ensure your turkeys have access to clean water and food.
• Prevent contact with infected birds.
• Maintain good hygiene and sanitation in your turkeys’ living conditions.

Conclusion

With proper care, domestic turkeys can live for up to a decade. Although this is a domestic turkey’s average lifespan, several factors determine how long the bird will live. It’s vital to prevent any factors that compromise the lifespan of your flock. For instance, you can prolong your flock’s lifespan by providing healthy foods and keeping it secure from predators.