What is the difference between pheasant and chicken

This article was originally published with the title "Tastes Like Pheasant" in Scientific American , 6, 16 June She lives in Brooklyn, N. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. Get smart. This is something that almost every kind of bird experiences, but the consensus is that pheasants are the worst offenders.

Another difference is that pheasants, because they are game birds, need to eat only game bird feed. Of course, this is particularly important when they are babies. Eating the wrong food, or even eating parts of their litter, can impact their gizzards and kill them. Pheasants are more skittish than chickens. Pheasants are usually smaller than chickens, so naturally, baby pheasants are very small.

Pheasants love to roost like chickens do, but prefer multiple roosts at various levels to be the most comfortable. Pheasants, on the other hand, are much more durable birds. We get a lot of questions about pheasant eggs. Yes, you can eat pheasant eggs. They usually have a stronger flavor with a deep, dark yellow yolk. Most of the time, you can count on going out to the coop for a chicken egg every day or every other day.

Click to learn more. You can get chickens that are bred as good layers or bred for their meat, and they produce a superior meat product.

Then again, some breeds have been specially selected because they are both good for meat and are good layers. If your intention for poultry on the homestead is producing eggs for profit, then purpose-bred chickens are probably the better choice, as they will be more prolific layers.

Chickens bred for meat produce large volumes of meat, and the meat is succulent and juicy. Pheasants, on the other hand, are just pheasants; although their meat and eggs are used, they are not specially bred for this purpose. A chicken bred for egg-laying will out-lay a pheasant without a problem.

A meat chicken will always have more succulent meat than a pheasant. Pheasant eggs are slightly larger than a chicken egg but not as rich as a chicken egg.

The taste is slightly gamier than a chicken egg and is usually an acquired taste for people who are used to chicken eggs. Pheasant meat is often likened to the taste of turkey. The taste of the meat can, however, be influenced by what they eat.

For this reason, farm-raised pheasant has a taste that is closer to chicken than wild pheasants. Pheasant meat is lean in comparison to chicken and is, therefore, a healthier choice of meat. Unless pheasants are endemic to your area, they may be more susceptible to disease and weather changes than the domestic chicken.

However, if the pheasant is indigenous to your area, you may find that they are hardier to local environmental conditions and diseases than domestic chickens are. Chickens are generally easier to house and are less likely to escape their enclosure, whereas pheasants are more likely to try and escape.