Do you cut open the crop to see what they have been eating?

[Mountain Man]

Does anyone cut open the crop when cleaning a turkey to see what they have been eating?

I do and what I have found is that on toms I've shot right after fly down is that sometimes they are completely empty with a yellow liquid in them. I guess that's not surprising since they had been roosted all night and digested the previous days food. Others that I have shot 1-2 hours after fly down have contained corn and dandelion heads that were turning white to go to seed but hadn't opened yet in the early morning hours. Those birds were shot in or near alfalfa fields and I originally thought they were nipping off alfalfa leaves but by cutting open the crop I didn't see any alfalfa but instead they were filled with dandelion heads.

[Brad]

Does anyone cut open the crop when cleaning a turkey to see what they have been eating?

I do and what I have found is that on toms I've shot right after fly down is that sometimes they are completely empty with a yellow liquid in them. I guess that's not surprising since they had been roosted all night and digested the previous days food. Others that I have shot 1-2 hours after fly down have contained corn and dandelion heads that were turning white to go to seed but hadn't opened yet in the early morning hours. Those birds were shot in or near alfalfa fields and I originally thought they were nipping off alfalfa leaves but by cutting open the crop I didn't see any alfalfa but instead they were filled with dandelion heads.

I usually do, this years tom has whole corn kernels, not surprising since he was shot in a cut corn field although where he is finding the corn is beyond me, I have walked those rows and didn't see any!

[Mike.E]

I usually always check the crop, just to see what kind of fields they may be going to or if neighbors are feeding them, and sometimes can tell they are . This year in my bird i got late afternoon his crop was almost completely empty, with just a few kernels of corn from last fall.

I've also heard they eat small rocks to help them digest their food and break it down. Do you know anything about this?

[Brad]

My wife just informed me of that the other day, and she don't even turkey hunt! I guess I need to study up on my turkey behavior and biology better!

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[jlh42581]

Ive seen a lot of dandelion leaves in them

[jlh42581]

I usually always check the crop, just to see what kind of fields they may be going to or if neighbors are feeding them, and sometimes can tell they are . This year in my bird i got late afternoon his crop was almost completely empty, with just a few kernels of corn from last fall.

I've also heard they eat small rocks to help them digest their food and break it down. Do you know anything about this?

all birds do this, thats the function of the gizzard

[Uncle Lou]

I usually always check the crop, just to see what kind of fields they may be going to or if neighbors are feeding them, and sometimes can tell they are . This year in my bird i got late afternoon his crop was almost completely empty, with just a few kernels of corn from last fall.

I've also heard they eat small rocks to help them digest their food and break it down. Do you know anything about this?

As jlh and brad said, they do this. The gizzard is a muscle with a tough leathery inside. Turkeys eat gravel which pass into the crop and then to the gizzard to grind the food. The food takes the same route as the rocks, so you will also find small gravel in the crop, uncrushed. In the gizzard, the rocks grind up the food and against each other and mostly pass.

I love to skin and eat gizzards, once you cook and skin them they are delicious. My wife brought me home a jar of pickled turkey gizzards for our anniversary last year on her way home from the packers game (she either got them in green bay or Michigan's UP).

And yes I cut open the crop, I love digging through them. I usually find grass, corn, beans, acorns, dandelions, and some bugs.

[BigHills BuckHunter]

I also love digging through them. Usually find a few small rocks in them which they use to grind up food.

[Mike.E]

Oh alright, thanks guys. I've always wondered that, i used to dump a bucket of gravel out every spring and have gotten tracks on it and what not, but gave up doing that and decided to actually to to hunt them lol

I might have to put out more gravel and see what comes to it, maybe that's the trick.