Chicken mushrooms (Laetiporus sp.) are much larger and fleshier than turkey tails, and are distinctively yellow-orange to pink orange. Turkey tails are thin and leathery, and you wouldn't be tempted to eat them, though some people make tea out of them. There are lots of shelf-like mushrooms that grow directly from wood; most of them are too hard or tough to eat, only a couple are thought to be good edibles. There are a few poisonous bracket mushrooms, too, so don't cook anything without positively identifying them!

You might also be thinking of hen-of-the-woods or Maitake, which is closer in color to turkey tails. It is also much bigger and fleshier, and always grows at the base of trees.