All You Wanted to Know About
Turkey Eggs and Were Afraid to Ask
Turkey eggs, although edible, are used primarily for reproduction.
Turkey eggs are excellent for baking if a turkey egg is substituted for
a chicken egg in the recipe. This is because the turkey egg is larger,
has a larger yolk, and a larger percentage yolk than a chicken egg. If a
similar composition of eggs is desired, two turkey eggs can be
substituted for three chicken eggs. However, turkey eggs are rarely used
for eating and cooking for two main reasons. The first is that they are
too valuable for human consumption. The turkey hen is larger and
requires more time to come into egg production than the chicken hen.
After production starts, the turkey hen does not lay as many eggs as
chickens so most are needed for reproduction. Also, because certain feed
ingredients can be transferred by the hen to the egg, these ingredients
must be cleared as safe by government agencies. Although many of the
ingredients have been cleared for use in laying chicken hen feeds, these
same ingredients have not been cleared for turkey hens, therefore these
eggs can not be legally sold for human consumption. The turkey egg has
thicker and tougher shell membranes and thicker shells than chicken
eggs, making them more difficult to break than chicken eggs.
The weight of a turkey egg varies greatly, depending on the strain of
bird. The average weight of a turkey hen’s egg can vary from 66 grams to
over 110 grams. Genetic increases in body weight are associated with
increases in egg weight and genetic increases in egg production are
associated with decreases in egg weight. Egg weight increases with age
of the hen and is influenced by several environmental factors. The
average egg weight for a turkey hen is highly heritable and the weight
can be changed rapidly, if desired, by selective breeding.
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