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People Are Only Just Realizing Why We Don’t Eat Turkey Eggs
People are only just discovering why we don’t eat turkey eggs.
Turkey eggs are almost impossible to find in supermarkets – and it turns out there’s a lot more to it than most people realize.
While millions of people tuck into turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas every year, very few have ever stopped to wonder why the bird’s eggs never make it onto breakfast plates.
Unlike chicken, duck, or even quail eggs, turkey eggs are rarely sold commercially.
It’s one of those questions that seems obvious once someone points it out.
The mystery has sparked countless discussions online, with many people admitting they’d never even considered the question until it suddenly appeared on their social media feeds.
Some assumed turkey eggs simply weren’t safe to eat, while others wondered whether the birds didn’t lay eggs at all. In reality, the answer is far less dramatic, but it reveals a fascinating mix of farming economics, animal biology and centuries of history that explains why turkey eggs never became a breakfast staple.
The biggest reason comes down to simple biology.
According to Kimmon Williams of the National Turkey Federation, speaking to MailOnline, female turkeys don’t begin laying until they’re around seven months old.
By comparison, chickens typically start producing eggs at around five months.
And once they do begin laying, the difference becomes even more noticeable.
While a chicken can lay up to six eggs a week, turkeys produce far fewer eggs over a much shorter laying season.
That makes raising turkeys purely for eggs far less efficient than raising chickens.
Turkey eggs would be incredibly expensive
It’s not just the lower egg production that makes turkey eggs uncommon.
Turkeys are much larger birds than chickens, meaning they require significantly more food, space and care.
Because farmers spend more money raising them while getting far fewer eggs in return, the economics simply don’t add up.
Experts estimate a single turkey egg would need to sell for around $3 just for producers to break even.
That means a dozen could cost roughly $36.
Compared to a carton of chicken eggs costing just a few dollars, it’s easy to see why supermarkets don’t stock them.
They’re actually considered a delicacy
Despite being so rare, people who have tried turkey eggs often say they’re delicious.
They’re larger than chicken eggs, with richer yolks and a creamier texture.
According to Slate, some chefs even prefer turkey eggs for making sauces because of their rich flavour.
Nutritionally, they’re also quite different.
Turkey eggs contain roughly twice the calories and fat of chicken eggs, along with around three times the cholesterol.
While that makes them a little more indulgent, it hasn’t been enough to create widespread demand.
History also played a part
The lack of turkey eggs on our plates isn’t only down to farming.
History also played an unexpected role.
Turkeys are native to North America and were an important food source for Indigenous communities long before Europeans introduced chickens to the continent.
When European settlers encountered turkeys, they brought the birds back across the Atlantic.
However, according to MailOnline, a misconception later spread in France that turkey eggs were linked to leprosy, discouraging people from eating them.
Although the claim had no scientific basis, it reportedly helped limit their popularity.
They were once served in famous restaurants
Turkey eggs weren’t always absent from menus.
According to Slate, New York’s iconic Delmonico’s restaurant once served them scrambled, poached and baked into frittatas, where they were considered something of a luxury ingredient.
But as industrial chicken farming expanded throughout the 20th century, chicken eggs became dramatically cheaper and easier to produce on a massive scale.
Turkey eggs simply couldn’t compete.
Today, they’re mainly found on small specialty farms or sold to food enthusiasts willing to pay premium prices.
The US Department of Agriculture also noted in 2024 that turkey egg inventories had fallen to their lowest level since 1988, partly due to outbreaks of avian influenza.
So while turkey eggs are perfectly edible, and by most accounts delicious, biology, farming costs, and a little historical misinformation have combined to keep them off our supermarket shelves.
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