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Because male chickens do not lay eggs and only those in breeding programmes are required to fertilise eggs, they are considered redundant to the egg-laying industry and are usually killed shortly after being sexed, which occurs just days after they are conceived or after they hatch. [3]
Most chickens are raised for food, providing meat and eggs; others are kept as pets [1] or for cockfighting. Chickens are common and widespread domestic animals, with a total population of 26.5 billion as of 2023, and an annual production of more than 50 billion birds. A hen bred for laying can produce over 300 eggs per year.
A yolkless egg is most often a pullet's first egg, produced before her laying mechanism is fully ready. In a mature hen, a yolkless egg is unlikely, but can occur if a bit of reproductive tissue breaks away, stimulating the egg-producing glands to treat it as a yolk and wrap it in albumen, membranes and a shell as it travels through the egg tube.
Chickens that are "pasture-raised" or "free range" will typically lay eggs with a darker, more orange-colored yolk, Steele said, "because their diet consists mainly of grasses, weeds and other ...
Hens crave privacy and darkness when laying eggs, so plan for at least one nesting box for every four or five hens. A box that measures 14"W-by-14"H x 12"D will give even a big gal plenty of room.
The RSPCA "Welfare standards for laying hens and pullets" indicates that the stocking rate must not exceed 1,000 birds per hectare (10 m 2 per hen) of range available and a minimum area of overhead shade/shelter of 8 m 2 per 1,000 hens must be provided. Free-range farming of egg-laying hens is increasing its share of the market.
[20] [21] Generally, chicken breeds with white ear lobes lay white eggs, whereas chickens with red ear lobes lay brown eggs. [22] Although there is no significant link between shell color and nutritional value, often there is a cultural preference for one color over another (see § Color of eggshell below). As candling is less effective with ...
The farm currently produces about 350 brown eggs daily but expects to bump that up to over 1,000 brown eggs a day after receiving a delivery of more than 700 pullets (or young hens) on this month.