What came first, the chicken or the egg? Surprising Egg-Cellent Facts!
New Generation Eggs is proud to share our wonderful, delicious eggs with others. We are glad that so many people are able to join in enjoying the countless benefits of eating eggs and delicious meals that can be made with eggs. Enjoying eggs is great, but where do they come from? You may be surprised to learn that there are many interesting things to know about egg-laying hens and the history behind your eggs. Let’s take a look at some interesting tidbits about chickens and eggs.
There are more chickens than any other bird species -- more than 25 billion chickens across the entire world!
Just like dogs or cats, chickens come in a variety of breeds. There are hundreds of different chicken breeds. The Rhode Island Red, Leghorn, and Sussex are just a few of the many egg-laying breeds.
A freshly laid egg is 105 degrees Fahrenheit! That is slightly warmer than the normal human body temperature.
Did you know that hens are only born with so many eggs in their system? They will not lay eggs until they die, they will simply lay eggs until they run out.
The eggs you see in stores are always the ones with hard shells, but hens can actually lay eggs without a hard shell. These are eggs that did not develop correctly.
To produce just one chicken egg, hens need about ⅓ of a pound of chicken feed, 10 oz. of water, 14-16 hours of light, and 24 hours. That’s a lot of work that goes into a single egg!
Out of the 26 hours it takes to make a chicken egg, 20 of those hours are required to make the shell.
The world’s largest chicken egg measured 9.1 inches in diameter and was laid by a hen in the United Kingdom.
Once a hen lays an egg, the development of the next egg begins within 30 minutes. Talk about hard work!
Chickens do not produce one egg at a time. Instead, producing hens normally have several eggs in various stages of development.
The color of an egg’s yolk is determined by the hen’s diet.
Older eggs have larger air cells, making them easier to peel than fresh eggs. Use this tip when making hard boiled eggs in the future.
Though eggs are a very common food, it is amazing the complexities behind creating one. Now you know that everything that goes into each New Generation Egg that you enjoy!
