Fun facts about eggs and hens
- About one in a thousand eggs are ‘double-yolkers’.
- It’s rare, but a tiny egg in its shell can be found inside a normal size egg.
- A layer hen can lay more than 300 eggs a year.
- A large hen lays eggs about 7cm long, and a small hen lays eggs about 5.5cm long.
- A large egg weighs about 80 grams and a small egg weighs about 50 grams.
- There is no difference (apart from shell colour) between white and brown eggs.
- Chickens with brown feathers lay brown eggs and chickens with white feathers lay white eggs.
- It takes a hen 26 hours to produce an egg.
- Captain Cook introduced poultry to New Zealand on his second voyage in 1773.
- The first recorded farming of poultry was by missionaries in the Bay of Islands in 1814.
- From eight to 18 weeks of age a female chicken is called a ‘pullet’.
- Chickens have very good eyesight and a wide view of vision of about 300 degrees.
- Chicken manure is great fertiliser.
- The world’s biggest chicken was 10kg.
- Eggs are one of the most affordable sources of high-quality protein.
- New Zealand egg farmers produce around 1 billion eggs every year.
- On average each year, Kiwis eat around 250 eggs each.
- Egg yolks are one of the few foods to naturally contain Vitamin D.
