Turkeys are seen everywhere during Thanksgiving – on farms and sometimes boldly crossing suburban roads. However, at the supermarket, almost no one i
Turkeys are seen everywhere during Thanksgiving – on farms and sometimes boldly crossing suburban roads. However, at the supermarket, almost no one is shopping for turkey eggs next to chicken and duck eggs is. It thereby sets off a bit of a mystery: Are turkeys eggers?
They definitely do! The egg, laid by the female (hen) turkey, is large, creamy or off-white and is typically speckled in reddish-brown. They’re safe to eat and have a flavor much like a chicken egg, but with the size of the yolk, some people say it’s richer.
Well, why haven’t we all eaten one? But truthfully it is more about timing than taste, cost, and basic farm economics. Turkeys just aren’t the little egg producing machines that chickens are.
Do Turkeys Lay Eggs Like Chickens Do?
Turkeys and chickens breed in a very similar manner. A mature female turkey will form a yolk, then develop the egg around it and finally pass it down her reproductive tract. She can lay an egg without the presence of a male turkey (gobbler or tom).
The egg will become infertile, however, if no mating occurs so that it cannot result in the birth of a poult, or baby turkey. Once a hen has mated with a tom some of her subsequent eggs may be fertile.
The only difference is the amount of times it occurs. A number of egg-laying chicken varieties lay eggs throughout the year. Turkeys lay many fewer eggs and are more seasonal. It is their natural reproductive rhythm, to produce a manageable spring clutch, not grocery carton fill-ups each morning.
What Do Turkey Eggs Look Like?
The turkey egg is a bit like the average chicken egg was enlarge and freckled. The majority are shell of creamy white, beige or light tan color with light brown, red or purple spots.
They are a bit bigger than a normal chicken egg. The size depends on the breed of turkey; a turkey egg could reach nearly double the size of an average chicken egg depending how healthy and well-fed the turkey is, and its age. The thickness and toughness of the shell also can increase, making it harder to break.
Things are familiar in the inside as well: egg whites, yolk and yolk membranes. The yolk is relatively large and often is deeply coloured, if it is able to access pasture and diversified feed. Unusual looking, perhaps, but certainly not mysterious.
How Often Do Turkey Hens Lay Eggs?
Turkeys hens will nest 2 or 3 eggs per week during an active laying period, but this varies with breed, daylight, nutrition, age and living conditions. With commercial breeder hens, you can expect more than 100 eggs over a controlled laying cycle; still, that is not competitive with laying chickens that are bred to lay more eggs.
Wild hens exhibit a more definitive seasonality. Typically a hen will lay one egg each day until she has a full clutch, about 10 to 12 eggs. She will not start to incubate the eggs immediately after she lays the first egg. Rather, she returns to its nest, lays another egg and goes off again and around until a full nest is built.
After settling down to incubate her cycle of egg production ceases while she focusses her efforts on establishing a brooding environment and incubating the developing poults.
When Do Turkeys Begin Laying Eggs?
Domestic turkey hens will typically mature later than chickens. Many start laying at about seven months of age (may vary depending on breed, body condition, daylight & management).
The natural peak is during spring. More light enhances production of reproductive hormones and better temperatures promote the opportunity for new hatchlings to locate insects and young vegetables. As the season draws near, backyard hens can start looking for nesting areas away from the others.
Wild turkey timing is for the varying climatic conditions and subspecies. Hens in the warmer parts of the world may start earlier, birds from the colder parts of the world, and those in mountainous areas, may wait longer. Schedule may change from year to year due to weather conditions.
The hen in proximal approach to lay is secretive, walks away from the flock or retraces corners in sheltered places. There is no need to say that she may not be lost. She might just be house shopping.
Where Do Wild Turkeys Build Their Nests?
Turkeys nest on the ground, not in trees. The hen looks for a place that has enough cover or greenery so that she doesn’t show but yet can still see to look out for danger.
The nest is beautifully basic. Typically, it is a shallow scratch in soil and lined with leaves or other local vegetation. It is not a highly articulated fabric. Decoration is not as important as camouflage.
There are clearly risks involved in ground nesting. The eggs can be discovered by raccoons, snakes, crows, coyotes and other predators, and a nest can be blown out by rain or disturbed by people.
Therefore, a wild nest should not be disturbed. Repeated approaching could form a scent trail, cause destruction of surrounding cover or could cause the hen to walk away when it matters most!
How Long Do Turkey Eggs Take to Hatch?
Typically, a turkey egg will take about 28 days to hatch. When the clutch is completed, the hen starts to incubate the eggs continuously and this enables the poults to hatch within a reasonable time span as opposed to hatching a day here, a day there.
While the eggs are being incubated, she rotates them as well as keeping them warm and moist enough to form embryos. She will only be away for a short time to feed, drink and defacate but will spend most of her time sitting quietly and adopting camouflage tactics.
Fertile eggs placed in an artificial incubator require careful temperature, humidity, ventilation and turning. Simply keeping them warm is not enough. It is possible for hatch rate or developmental problems to occur with just a little management error.
A poult has a temporary structure for breaking out of the egg – an egg tooth – as hatching nears. Once dried and ready to gather strength, the young are then ready to follow their mother.
Can You Eat Turkey Eggs Safely?
Yes. The eggs of the turkey can be eaten and cooked similar to chicken eggs. They can be scrambled, fried, boiled into custards, quiches and other egg mixtures or added to baked goods.
Food-safety rules, principles apply. Pick up eggs quickly, store them safely in the fridge, and cook them properly – especially for children, older people, pregnant women and those with lowered body resistance. Do not use cracked, soiled or undamaged eggs.
One practical is a problem with recipes. The size of turkey eggs means that a 1:1 switch with chicken eggs could result in a recipe that’s too liquid, too high in protein or fat for a delicate recipe. That doesn’t really count for regular scramble eggs. A safer way to make precision baking is by breaking an egg into a bowl and weighing or measuring it.
Consider one turkey egg a “big breakfast” instead of a “peewee egg.
What Do Turkey Eggs Taste Like?
Turkey eggs are NOT the same flavor as turkey meat! That may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s likely the first question that many eager foodies have.
They taste something like a chicken egg, and there’s a familiar savory richness to their taste. Some people prefer them because of their creamy texture and slight “fuller” flavour, due to the chunks of yolk that the egg contains. Flavor also can be affected by diet and freshness just as it is with chicken and duck eggs.
It is great in scrambled eggs, omelet, rich baked goods and custards. They have a bigger yolk that will add some richness, and the larger white makes the egg quite filling.
Can most people tell a turkey egg in a blind taste test? Perhaps not. The size, thickness of shell and speckled pattern are much more distinctive than the taste. It’s not exactly a different kind of food; it’s just an interesting farm-ripened fruit.
Why Aren’t Turkey Eggs Sold in Grocery Stores?
Mostly it’s all about economics. Turkeys require more room, more feed and are larger than a chicken, and they get to laying age later than chickens. The hen has invested all this, and now gives reduced egg production, laying fewer eggs at less consistent intervals.
Many fertile turkey eggs too are of better use to farmers: hatching poults. A fertile egg can be a bird meant for breeding or for meat, and it is worth more than an “unusual breakfast item”.
In contrast, today’s commercially bred chickens are selected for a high rate of egg laying. Since chickens need less feed as well as space for an egg, and people already know how to use a “standard” chicken-egg, this would be a good reason to use the product.
Turkey eggs can sometimes be found at small farms and a specialty store or by a backyard poultry raiser. They are not dangerous or unwanted, but rare. They aren’t used to any real benefit at the supermarket level they’re just costly and inefficient to make.
There’s a mom’s egg that you should avoid: Wild Turkey Eggs.There’s one mom’s egg that you don’t want to get: Wild Turkey Eggs.
Wild turkey and domestic turkey eggs are similar but the life of the birds is quite different. Wild hens select ground nests in natural cover; they brood to seasonal eggs and depend completely on the cover to escape predators. They lay eggs in order to maintain the wild population.
Domestic turkeys are subject to human control. They can be controlled for nutrition, shelter, lighting, breeding and egg collection; especially under the commercial breeder farms. It is likely that the heritage breed will have better natural mating and brooding ability than some highly selected commercial breeds.
If a domestic hen’s egg is collected and handled suitably, it can be consumed. NEVER remove wild turkey eggs from nests. Nests or eggs may be protected by wildlife regulations and disturbance of nests can result in loss of an entire repro effort.
Curiosity is fine. Gathering up eggs from the wood is not.
Wild Turkey Eggs Versus Domestic Turkey Eggs
Wild and domestic turkey eggs are biologically similar, but the birds’ lifestyles are very different. Wild hens choose hidden ground nests, produce seasonal clutches and rely entirely on natural cover to avoid predators. Their eggs are intended to hatch and sustain the wild population.
Domestic turkeys live under human management. Their nutrition, shelter, lighting, breeding and egg collection may be controlled, particularly on commercial breeder farms. Heritage breeds may also retain stronger natural mating and brooding behavior than heavily selected commercial varieties.
An egg from a domestic hen may be eaten when it has been collected and handled safely. Wild turkey eggs should not be removed from nests. Wildlife regulations may protect nests and eggs, and disturbing them can destroy an entire reproductive attempt.
Curiosity is fine. Collecting eggs from the woods is not.
Conclusion
So, then, do turkeys lay eggs? Yes. The longest of the Turkey hens lay big eggs that are speckled and are full eating eggs and resemble richer, bigger chicken-type eggs. Wild hens usually lay hidden nests on the ground, develop a clutch during the season and incubate their eggs for approximately 28 days.
There is a biological explanation for why they’re not on supermarket shelves. Turkeys are slow to mature, they eat more, they need more space and they lay fewer eggs than chickens. So they typically grow them for putting out meat or go to non-fertile eggs to brood out the poults, as opposed to selling the eggs for breakfast.
A fun culinary adventure finding a turkey egg on a good local farm can await. But don’t look for this product to supersede the plucky chicken egg anytime soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do hens have to be with a Tom in order to lay eggs?
No. Turkeys hens will lay eggs even if they have not been bred by a tom! Unfertilized eggs can’t hatch. He is only needed if the farmer or bird wishes to create fertile eggs and poults.
Does a turkey lay an egg a day?
The hen will lay an egg per day on average while laying her spring clutch of eggs. Domestic hens might lay eggs every day, but they typically are not subject to high rates of production by productive chicken breed like almost daily throughout the year.
Which egg is larger, a turkey egg or a chicken egg?
Yes. Eggs from turkeys are typically much larger than chicken eggs — sometimes they can be up to twice the size! Their shells are also more likely to be thicker and to have nice brown or reddish spots.
Can One Take Eggs From a Wild Turkey Nest?
Wildlife legislation is these places differs; extracting and interfering with wild bird eggs are frequently limited or prohibited. When the precise rule isn’t known, it is better to simply avoid the nest — get away quietly.
Are it possible to hatch any store-bought turkey eggs?
Eggs from Turkey are not commonly available for sale. In order for an egg to be edible, it would have to be fertile and in order to hatch, would have to be properly stored and treated under controlled conditions. Poults won’t hatch from refrigerated eggs or from unfertilized eggs.
