Just google ticks on wild turkeys. There is tons of articles from all around the country. We see them on the birds we shoot every year. Here is one link if you guys trust Kstate Vet Hospital, but from some of the comments on here I doubt some of you do.
https://www.vet.k-state.edu/vhc/docs/ticks-in-kansas.pdf
The white-tailed deer is considered a prominent host
for the lone star tick, because larvae, nymphs, and adults
will all feed successfully on this host. The wild turkey is
another host that lives in similar habitats and is an excellent
host for larval, and particularly nymphal, lone star ticks.
http://cpah.com/ticks-in-kansas
The wild turkey is another host. Adult ticks can also feed on a variety of hosts including cattle, horses, dogs, cats, and humans.
Here is another source, there are tons of them.
http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/galleries/2008/jun/13/do_you_know_your_ticks/
Here is a link with actual numbers from surveyed birds.
https://academic.oup.com/jme/articl...-Ticks-Acari-Ixodidae?redirectedFrom=fulltext
During the spring and fall turkey hunting seasons of 1999, hunters and Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks field personnel examined wild turkeys, Meleagris gallopavo L., for ticks and submitted them to us for identification. From springtime hunting, we received 113 ticks from 12 turkeys killed in nine counties, all in the eastern one-third of Kansas. Collectors reported examining three additional wild turkeys on which no ticks were found. All ticks were nymphal lone star ticks, Amblyomma americanum (L.). Of 11 wild turkeys examined in seven counties during October, one was parasitized by 30 A. americanum larvae. Data from this study and accounts from the published literature suggest that parasitism of wild turkeys by immature lone star ticks is commonplace wherever this host and ectoparasite are sympatric. Our study suggests that M. gallopavo may be an important host that supports lone star tick populations.
