A young turkey also known as a young roaster is a delicious choice for your holiday feast or family dinner. But how big is a young turkey exactly? Let’s take a closer look.
Defining a Young Turkey
A young turkey is a turkey that is between 4 to 8 months old The younger age results in more tender, juicy meat compared to an older turkey. The smooth, soft skin also crisps up beautifully when roasted
Young turkeys are sometimes called “yearlings” but true yearlings are over 12 months old. The terms young turkey, young roaster, and fryer turkey are interchangeable in the poultry industry.
Average Weight Range of Young Turkeys
The average weight range for a young turkey is 10 to 24 pounds. Here’s a more detailed breakdown
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10 to 14 pounds – The smallest young turkeys, perfect for a small gathering of 4-6 people.
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14 to 18 pounds – A medium young turkey good for feeding 6-10 people.
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18 to 24 pounds – Large young turkeys that can feed 10-15 hungry guests.
Benefits of Buying a Smaller Young Turkey
There are several advantages to choosing a smaller young turkey in the 10 to 14 pound range:
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Easier to Cook Through: A smaller turkey will cook faster and more evenly. The breast and thighs finish cooking at the same time with less risk of drying out.
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Fits Better in the Oven: A 10-14 pound turkey fits nicely in a standard home oven without crowding. The hot air circulates better for even browning.
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Easier to Carve and Serve: A smaller bird is easier to maneuver when carving and serving. It can fit on a large platter versus an oversized cutting board.
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Less Leftovers: With a turkey on the smaller side, you aren’t stuck eating leftovers for a week. The portions are reasonable.
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Lower Cost: A smaller turkey is more budget-friendly, making your holiday meal more affordable.
Buying Guide for Young Turkey
When shopping for a fresh young turkey keep the following tips in mind:
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Look for turkeys raised without antibiotics or added hormones and fed an all-vegetarian diet for better flavor.
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Check the packaging date and use turkeys within 1-3 days for optimal freshness.
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Allow 1-1.5 pounds per person when estimating turkey size.
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Look for turkeys that are Grade A to indicate high quality.
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Turkeys with pop-up timers make cooking foolproof for beginners.
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Fresh turkeys cost a bit more than frozen but taste incredible.
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For the best value, buy turkey when it’s on sale leading up to the holidays.
Cooking a Young Turkey to Perfection
Roasting a flavorful, juicy young turkey is easy when you follow a few simple tips:
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Thaw safely if using a frozen turkey, allowing 24 hours for every 4-5 pounds. Keep the turkey in the fridge during thawing.
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Pat the turkey dry and rub the skin with oil or butter to help get a crisp, golden skin.
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Season generously under and on top of the skin with a rub or poultry seasoning.
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Use an oven-safe rack in a roasting pan to elevate the turkey for even cooking.
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Cook to an internal temperature of 165°F measured in the thickest part of the breast.
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Let rest for 30 minutes before carving for juicy results.
With a 10-14 pound young turkey cooked properly, you’ll have a feast the whole family will enjoy! Dig into tender, moist meat with crispy seasoned skin and savor those amazing turkey flavors.
The Ideal Young Turkey for Your Holiday Meal
Jennie-O Whole Young Turkey is the perfect choice for your special meal. Their fresh turkeys range from 10 to 24 pounds so you can pick the ideal size. They are pre-basted to seal in flavor and each serving delivers 24g of protein. With their no antibiotics policy, you can feel good about your food choices.
Serve up a mouthwatering Jennie-O young turkey this year for a holiday meal that will wow your guests. The combination of small size, premium quality, and delicious taste is sure to satisfy.
Turkey Basics-Gobblers and Hens
Let’s begin with the basics of distinguishing male wild turkeys (gobblers) from females (hens).
Gobblers are larger-bodied birds, with a darker coloration, at times appearing almost black. In bright sunlight, their feathers cast a brilliant bronze or metallic iridescence. Gobblers have a featherless, red head (sometimes with blue and white coloring, too) with prominent wattle and fleshy, red growths (called caruncles) on their neck. They also have a “beard”—a tuft of black, hair-like strands—protruding from their chest.
On adult gobblers (called toms), the beard can be 7-9 inches or more in length, but on young gobblers (called jakes) the beard is <6 inches long. Typically, gobblers hang out away from hens during the summer since they take no part in raising young.
Hens are more brown in coloration and smaller in size than gobblers. They have a head that is more blue-gray in appearance, often with feathers continuing up the back of the head.
Occasionally hens will have a beard, but it is thinner than on gobblers and is quite often kinked. Hens can also have some feather iridescence, but not to the same extent as gobblers.
How many gobblers and hens do you see in this picture?
2 gobblers (both jakes, note the larger size, less-feathered red heads, and tiny stubble of a beard protruding from the chest of the jake on the right), 4 hens (one mostly hidden behind a jake, but you still can clearly see the typical head of a hen turkey poking out), 1 unknown. If we were here in person live, the birds would move about and we could probably determine that the unknown is another jake, but given what we can see in this photo, it’s best to just call this partially obstructed bird an unknown.
Poults develop very quickly (they must in order not to be eaten!) and feather types, appearance, and body size change rapidly as they age. Based on these characteristics, we can estimate the age of poults. For simplicity, we divide poults into three age classes.
1 week old or younger. Poults that are no more than about a week old are still covered with downy feathers and are very small (<5-6 inches tall). They look like little puff balls about the size of your fist.
Turkey Poult Class 1
2-5 weeks old. Poults in this class have grown longer wing feathers, but still are mostly covered with downy feathers on their body and still lack long tail feathers. They are about 6-10 inches tall, similar in size to a Blue Jay. In appearance, they look to be all wings (which is good because it means now they can fly into low trees to escape ground predators). Poults on the older end of this age class will have started to grow some juvenile plumage on their bodies, but still have short tail feathers.
Hen with class 2 age group poults
Hen with older class 2 age-group poult (borderline class 3)
Hen with class 2 age group poults
6-8 weeks or older. Poults early in this stage still have some down feathers occurring on the neck and head, but their body is covered with juvenile type contour feathers. They have visible tail feathers now, black-and-white barred wing feathers are emerging, and they stand about 10-12 inches tall, similar in size to a crow or a chicken. By about 8 weeks of age, poults are beginning to grow new “adult” looking body feathers and will have a mixture of juvenile feathers and adult feathers on their body. They are about half the size of the hen and will continue to grow to almost the same size as the hen by the end of the summer. Turkey Poults
Because they are very similar in size, late in the summer it can be very challenging to determine if a group of similar-sized turkeys is a flock of hens without poults or a hen and her older-age-class brood. If you’re unsure, it’s best to mark them as unknowns.
Wanna raise turkeys? Watch this first!!
FAQ
How many pounds is a young turkey?
How big is a 12 week old turkey?
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Age (weeks)
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Large White or Broad Breasted Bronze
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Small White
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Live Weight (lbs.)
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Live Weight (lbs.)
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8
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6.20
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4.40
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12
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11.60
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8.30
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16
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16.50
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12.10
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What is the difference between turkey and young turkey?
How big is a 1 year old turkey?