Egg Production
About 280 million laying hens produce some 60 billion eggs each year in the United States. That's roughly one hen for every man, women and child in the country.
There are now 200 breeds of chickens.
White shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes. Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. There is no difference in taste or nutrition between white and brown eggs.
An average hen lays 300 to 325 eggs a year. A hen starts laying eggs at 19 weeks of age.
A lot goes into an egg. The hen must eat 4 pounds of feed to make a dozen eggs (1 « lbs.).
To produce one egg, it takes a hen 24-26 hours, and to do so, she requires 5 oz. of food and 10 oz. of water. Thirty minutes later she starts all over again.
Occasionally, a hen will produce double-yolked eggs throughout her egg-laying career. It is rare, but not unusual, for a young hen to produce an egg with no yolk at all.
Artificial color additives are not permitted in chicken feed. Yolk color depends on the diet of the hen. Feed containing yellow corn or alfalfa produces medium yellow yolks while feed containing wheat or barely produces lighter color yolks. Natural yellow-orange substances such as marigold petals may be added to light colored feeds to enhance the yolk color.
During the packing process, eggs are separated by size. Minimum weights per dozen are : Jumbo (30 oz.), Extra Large (27 oz.), Large (24 oz.), Medium (21 oz.), small (18 oz.), and Pee Wee (15 oz.).
As a hen grows older she produces larger eggs.
Did you know a mother hen turns over her egg about fifty times per day (so the yolk won't stick to the sides of the shell)?
