7 Honest Difference between Turkey and Chicken with Similarities

What is the difference between turkey and chicken?

Turkey and chicken have been liked and eaten by many people because of their delicious meat. They are both classified as poultry. They have many things in common although they are different from each other.

Both are delicious and highly rich in proteins. It can be baked, grilled, or roasted. Both are low in calorie content and fats as compared to beef. They both have lean meat.

The main difference between turkey and chicken is that turkeys do not have feathers on their necks and heads while chickens have feathers on their necks and heads.

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Difference between Turkey and Chicken

Comparison Table (Turkey vs Chicken)

Characteristics Turkey Chicken
Size They are bigger in size with long tail feathers. They are small with a frill on top of their head.
Sound produced They make a gobbling sound. They make clucking sounds.
Color They are dark-colored birds. They are colorful and the males are brighter.
Necks and heads They do not have feathers on their necks and heads. They have feathers on their necks and heads.
Color of eggs They are buff-colored brown eggs. Their eggs are white in color.
Meat The meat is darker. The meat is mainly white in color.
Number of calories It contains fewer calories. It contains more calories.

What is Turkey?

Turkey is a large bird that is native to the Americas. There are two species of turkey. These are wild or domestic turkeys of Eastern and central North America and Ocellated turkeys of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Males have fleshy wattle that hangs from the top of their beaks. There are among the largest birds but the male is larger and more colorful.

They are more aggressive toward humans and pets on the farm. Snoods function both in intersexual and intrasexual selection.

Female turkeys in captivity prefer to mate with males that have long snoods. During mating time, the snoods become redder as it has a lot of blood in it. It also elongates several centimeters.

They are consumed by human beings. Domestic turkeys are preferred as they grow into bigger birds hence a lot of flesh accumulates on its body. Americans eat turkey on special occasions such as thanksgiving occasions or Christmas.

What is Chicken?

Chicken are birds of which its meat is often eaten by human beings as it is delicious. They are the most common and widespread domestic birds.

Humans keep chickens for their meat and eggs. They are omnivores. They feed on both plant matter and animals. They scratch in the soil for seeds, insects, and other small animals.

Depending on the breed, they can live as long as 10 years. Roosters are differentiated from the hens by their striking plumage of long flowing tails and shiny pointed feathers on their necks and backs.

They live together in broods. Both males and females work together to incubate the eggs and raising of young ones.

It takes 21 days for the eggs to hatch. Before hatching the hen can hear the chicks peeping inside the shells and the hen will cluck to stimulate them to break the shell

They may gang up on weak predators. They may attack it and kill it as it has been reported that a group of hens once killed a fox that had entered its house.

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Main Differences between Turkey and Chicken

  1. Turkeys are bigger in size with long tail feathers while chickens are smaller in size with a frill on top of their heads.
  2. Turkeys produce gobbling sounds while chickens produce clucking sounds.
  3. Turkeys are dark-colored birds while chickens are brightly colored birds especially males.
  4. Turkeys do not have feathers on their heads and necks while chickens have feathers on their heads and necks.
  5. Turkey’s meat is darker while chickens’ meat is mainly white in color.
  6. Turkeys meat contains little amount of calories as compared to chickens’ meat.

Similarities between Turkey and Chicken

  1. They both belong to the same family.
  2. They both have feathers on their bodies.
  3. Both are omnivores.
  4. They both lay eggs.

In Conclusion

Turkey and chicken are birds that are known worldwide. Most people keep them for their meat. The two are different in that turkeys are large in body size while the chicken is smaller with a frill on top of their heads. The main feature that makes turkey different from chicken is the presence of feathers on chickens’ heads and necks.

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