The One-Minute Naturalist: Turkey Mating Behavior

ONE-MINUTE NATURALIST WILD TURKEY LOVE
THE GOBBLE of a male wild turkey is nothing more than a lonely tom voicing his primordial need for a little cuddle time. More often than not, however, he needs a hen more than she needs him. Whereas ol’ Gob is out to prove what he’s made of to as many hens as possible during a season, not so the fairer sex. A tom’s sperm will remain viable inside a hen’s cloaca for up to eight weeks. That means a single act of turkey love can turn a hen into a cold fish: She can lay a clutch of eggs, and then renest if that clutch is destroyed, all without another round of servicing by the gobbler.