Problem Solving
Is It Illegal to Feed Wild Turkeys?
In most places, not by state law. Of the statewide rules we read, only Montana's names wild turkeys in a feeding ban, and even it lets you feed them unless the state objects. The bans that actually catch a backyard feeder are written by towns, and three of them name the turkey.
The short answer
- In most states no statute stops you feeding a wild turkey. What stops you is usually a town ordinance: Fort Bragg, California, Albany, Oregon, and Reading, Massachusetts all name turkeys in theirs.
- Montana is the one state rule we found that bans attracting turkeys with feed, and it carves out turkeys again: you may feed them unless the department finds it harms the local flock or creates a public nuisance. Bird feeding is exempt until you have been warned.
- The Maine ban with a $100 to $500 fine that you see quoted was a 2007 bill, LD 197. It died in committee, "Ought Not to Pass," on February 27, 2007. Current Maine law lets the commissioner prohibit or limit turkey feeding, which is a power, not a standing ban.
- California's statewide feeding rule covers big game mammals: deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear and Nelson bighorn sheep. A turkey is not on that list.
- Every ordinance here still allows an ordinary bird feeder, on conditions, and Reading's can order one removed within 48 hours.
Usually not, at state level. Among the state rules we read, only Montana's names the wild turkey in a feeding ban. Where it is illegal, the rule is local: a city code or board of health regulation that lists turkeys among the wildlife you may not feed.
It also matters whether you are feeding turkeys or feeding birds that turkeys find. Every ordinance here protects an ordinary bird feeder, within limits.
This page covers only what we read in the primary text, or in a reporter's account where the code would not load. The bird itself, and why it comes to feeders, is in the wild turkey profile. This page is the turkey counterpart to bear feeder laws; how to look up your own local rules is in neighbors and ordinances.
The rules we read#
"Turkeys named?" is the column that matters: a rule that names them leaves no room for argument.
| Place | Rule | Turkeys named? | Bird feeders | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana (state) | MCA 87-6-216, 2025 edition | Yes. No purposely or knowingly attracting wild turkeys with supplemental feed, but turkey feeding is allowed unless the department finds harm or a public nuisance | Exempt, unless you keep attracting turkeys after a department warning | $50 to $1,000, up to 6 months in jail, or both; hunting and fishing privileges can be forfeited |
| Maine (state) | 12 MRSA §10105, sub-§14 | Yes, as a power: the commissioner may prohibit or limit feeding of deer, bear, moose and wild turkey | Not addressed | Not in the section |
| California (state) | 14 CCR 251.3, with §350 | No. Covers big game mammals only | Not addressed | Not in the section |
| Mississippi (state) | 40 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 2, R. 2.4 | Yes, for hunting. Baiting turkeys is a Class II violation | Not addressed | $100 to $500, plus jail time |
| Fort Bragg, California | Municipal Code ch. 7.18 (Ord. 971, 2021) | Yes, in the definition of wildlife | Allowed "except wild turkeys": at least 5 ft up, ground kept clean | Not read |
| Albany, Oregon | Wildlife feeding ordinance, adopted November 6, 2024 | Yes, in the definition of wildlife | Songbirds and waterfowl allowed if feed is in receptacles "reasonably designed to avoid access by wildlife" | Reported: civil fines up to $1,000 a day, or a misdemeanor |
| Reading, Massachusetts | Board of Health Section 26, effective August 14, 2025 | Yes, in the definition of wildlife | Exempt, but removed within 48 hours if found to be a nuisance or safety threat | $50, then $100, then $150; each day is a separate offense |
Two of the four state rules are not backyard bans at all. California's does not reach the bird, and Mississippi's is about hunting over bait: the statutes allowing supplemental feed for deer "DO NOT authorize the same for wild turkey."
Montana bans it, then allows it
Subsection 1 of Montana's statute bans purposely or knowingly attracting wild turkeys with feed. Subsection 2 then says a person "may provide supplemental feed to wild turkeys unless the department finds that supplemental feed harms the local population of wild turkeys or creates a public nuisance." The default is permission.
Why the answers online disagree#
Search this question and you get pages saying turkey feeding is banned statewide in Maine, California and elsewhere, often with fines attached. Two things produce them.
A dead Maine bill quoted as law. LD 197, "An Act To Prevent the Domestication of Wild Turkey and Deer," would have said "a person may not intentionally feed a wild turkey," with a civil fine of $100 to $500 for a first offense, $500 to $1,000 for a second, and a Class E crime after that. The Legislature's own history records the final disposition: "Ought Not to Pass Pursuant to Joint Rule 310," February 27, 2007. The bill would have created 12 MRSA §10657, a number that now holds Maine's civil trespass rule.
What Maine law does say is in 12 MRSA §10105. It lets the commissioner "prohibit or limit the feeding of deer, bear, moose and wild turkey at any location if there is documented evidence of chronic wasting disease," limit attractants for the same four species, and limit their feeding as part of a plan for deer wintering areas. That is authority to act, not a ban on your feeder.
"Don't feed wildlife" heard as "it's illegal." In a 2019 CapRadio report, a UC Integrated Pest Management educator said it is "illegal to feed wildlife in California." The statewide regulation reads more narrowly. 14 CCR 251.3 says "No person shall knowingly feed big game mammals, as defined in Section 350," and Section 350 lists deer, elk, pronghorn antelope, black bear and Nelson bighorn sheep. We found no statewide California rule that names turkeys, which is why a California city such as Fort Bragg names them in its own code.
The same slide happens elsewhere. Minnesota's DNR, Connecticut's DEEP and NYC's wildlife program all say do not feed turkeys, and none of those pages says it is illegal. The Connecticut rule DEEP does cite bans releasing turkeys into the wild.
Town ordinances are where turkeys get named#
The three local rules follow one pattern: define wildlife broadly, name turkeys, ban feeding, then carve out bird feeders on conditions.
- Fort Bragg, California names wild turkeys in its wildlife definition, alongside coyotes, deer, ducks and geese. Bird feeding on private residential property is allowed "except wild turkeys," with feeders at least 5 feet above the ground and suspended or secured so other wildlife cannot easily reach them, the ground below kept "clean and free of seed," and no feeder allowed to become an attractant for animals other than birds.
- Albany, Oregon passed its ban on November 6, 2024, and it took effect 30 days later. Feeding wildlife, turkeys included, is a public nuisance "at all times." Songbirds and waterfowl may still be fed, provided "the feed shall be contained in receptacles which are reasonably designed to avoid access by wildlife." The local reporter questioned how a receptacle open to songbirds is supposed to keep wildlife out.
- Reading, Massachusetts went furthest. Its Board of Health regulation covers feeding "intentionally or unintentionally," lists turkeys alongside coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunks and bears, and counts bird seed as an attractant. Bird feeders are exempt, but if one "is determined to be the cause of a public safety threat or nuisance, the bird feeder and seed debris shall be removed within 48 hours."
The word "unintentionally" is the one to notice: under Reading's rule, "I was feeding the chickadees" does not decide the case.
When your bird feeder is the turkey feeder#
Minnesota's DNR puts the mechanism plainly: "the seed attracts turkeys." Seed on the lawn is what brings a flock into a yard, which is why the conditions in these ordinances point at the spill as much as the feeder.
Fort Bragg's 5 foot minimum is close to the height most feeders already hang at (the reasoning is in how high to hang a bird feeder). Its clean-ground requirement is the harder one to meet. Minnesota's DNR gives the same steps as advice: "Use feeders designed to keep seed off the ground, as the seed attracts turkeys and other wild animals," and "Clean up spilled seed from other types of feeders daily."
- Catch the spill. A seed tray under the feeder and the methods in seed mess, hulls and dead grass do most of the work.
- Buy seed with nothing to drop. Birds flick out filler and hulls. No-mess blends and sunflower hearts leave far less on the ground than mixes heavy in cracked corn or white millet.
- Stop ground feeding. A ground feeder or an open platform feeder set low is, for a turkey, simply a turkey feeder.
Why agencies say do not feed them#
Two reasons recur. The first is behavior. Minnesota's DNR says feeding, "whether direct or indirect, can cause turkeys to act tame and may lead to bold or aggressive behavior, especially in the breeding season." NYC's wildlife program says fed turkeys "lose their wariness of humans, and become aggressive."
The second is disease. Connecticut's DEEP says feeding turkeys "encourages the spread of disease and loss of wild instincts." Montana's statute frames its ban the same way, at feeding that causes "an artificial concentration" of game animals or wild turkeys that may contribute to disease transmission or threaten public safety.
Minnesota adds one timing point: remove feeders in the spring, when "there is plenty of natural food available for all birds." On the agency's own reasoning, a spring break costs the songbirds little. The broader case for pausing is in when to take feeders down.
Where this page stops applying#
- Other states and towns. We read four state rules and three local ones. Search your own municipal code for "wildlife" and "feeding" and check whether the definition names turkeys. The search method is in neighbors and ordinances.
- Hunting. Baiting turkeys for hunting falls under hunting rules, as in Mississippi. This page does not cover other states' baiting rules.
- Deer and bears have their own feeding rules in many states: see deer eating bird seed.
- Removing turkeys. NYC's wildlife program says removing wild turkeys from private property "can only be done legally by a licensed professional."
This is a reading of statutes and ordinances, not legal advice.
What to do if turkeys are at your feeder#
- Never put out food for the turkeys themselves. Corn on the ground is feeding turkeys on purpose, the conduct Montana's statute addresses and the town ordinances ban outright.
- Look up your town's code and meet each condition in its bird feeder exception.
- Clean under the feeder daily while the flock is visiting, and switch to a no-mess seed.
- Take feeders down for a few weeks if the flock stays, or in spring as Minnesota suggests (see spring bird feeding). Keep birds coming with native plants and a bird bath in the meantime.
- If you get a notice, act fast. Reading allows 48 hours; Montana's exemption ends at the first warning.
Frequently asked questions#
Is it illegal to feed wild turkeys in Maine?
The ban with a $100 to $500 fine often quoted online was LD 197, a 2007 bill that the committee rejected as Ought Not to Pass on February 27, 2007. Current Maine law, 12 MRSA §10105, lets the commissioner prohibit or limit feeding of deer, bear, moose and wild turkey, for example where chronic wasting disease is documented.
Is it illegal to feed wild turkeys in California?
Not under the statewide feeding rule. 14 CCR 251.3 bans knowingly feeding big game mammals, defined as deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear and Nelson bighorn sheep. Cities can go further: Fort Bragg names wild turkeys in its wildlife feeding ban and excludes them from its bird feeder exception.
Can I get in trouble if turkeys eat from my bird feeder?
Where a local rule names turkeys, yes. Reading, Massachusetts covers unintentional feeding and can require a feeder and its seed debris removed within 48 hours. Montana exempts bird feeding until the department has warned you. Keeping the ground under the feeder clean is the condition most of these rules turn on.