4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Chuckov]

I have friends who think that just because I have a couple of chickens in the garden, I am now all-knowing in matters poultry. Not true, as evidenced by my poor performance under cross examination at a dinner party last week! Hopefully someone knowing more than me can answer a couple of my eggy questions or give me a bit more knowledge so I have something more intelligent to say and so I can sound a bit more knowledgeable next time!!

 

- Is it really true (or an urban myth) that a supermarket egg is a couple of weeks old by the time you buy it in the shops?

 

- Why do they tell you to refridgerate them once you get them home if they have been OK up until then just on a normal shelf?

 

- 'A happy hen lays, an unhappy hen won't lay...so therefore hens are happy being battery hens'. Discuss (This can't be true, can it?)

 

- What's the difference between a chicken and a hen?

 

I got asked all these questions and didn't have good answers for any of them!

[Guest]

 

- Is it really true (or an urban myth) that a supermarket egg is a couple of weeks old by the time you buy it in the shops?

 

quite probably true

 

- Why do they tell you to refridgerate them once you get them home if they have been OK up until then just on a normal shelf?

 

because they're over 2 weeks old, see question 1

 

- 'A happy hen lays, an unhappy hen won't lay...so therefore hens are happy being battery hens'. Discuss (This can't be true, can it?)

 

battery hens are bred to lay, they'll pop them out regardless

 

- What's the difference between a chicken and a hen?

chicken is a generic term, hen refers to the female of the species

 

!

[Egluntyne]

 

- Is it really true (or an urban myth) that a supermarket egg is a couple of weeks old by the time you buy it in the shops?

 

Very often.....that is why they are easy to peel when hard boiled.

 

- Why do they tell you to refridgerate them once you get them home if they have been OK up until then just on a normal shelf?

 

Because they are already past it.

 

- 'A happy hen lays, an unhappy hen won't lay...so therefore hens are happy being battery hens'. Discuss (This can't be true, can it?)

 

It isn't true. A hen releases an egg every 25 hours or so. They will do this in the absence of major disease or parasites, if the are adequately nourished, whether they are happy or not. Happy is a state of mind.

 

- What's the difference between a chicken and a hen?

The term "Chicken" applies to the species Gallus Domesticus, which is a member of the pheasant family and what we know as the Domestic Chicken.

 

A hen is a female chicken over the age of 1 year.

 

I got asked all these questions and didn't have good answers for any of them!

[Chuckov]

Thanks Poet, Egluntine - actually, it did me a bit of good not knowing the answers to fairly simple questions - twice now, proper chickeny people, including one who I am told is quite senior at the British Poultry Club have asked what breed my chucks are and I haven't been able to tell them! (But only because Gingernut ranger and Miss Pepperpot aren't the 'real' breed names are they?)

 

So I am going to go away and do some reading

[Egluntyne]

Thanks Poet, Egluntine - actually, it did me a bit of good not knowing the answers to fairly simple questions - twice now, proper chickeny people, including one who I am told is quite senior at the British Poultry Club have asked what breed my chucks are and I haven't been able to tell them! (But only because Gingernut ranger and Miss Pepperpot aren't the 'real' breed names are they?)

 

So I am going to go away and do some reading

 

You can dazzle them with this info from the Omlet website next time they ask.

 

Miss Pepperpot is a modern hybrid and is the result of a Rhode Island Red crossed with a Maran and a Plymouth Rock.

 

and

 

The Gingernut Ranger is a Rhode Island Red crossed with a Light Sussex.

[Chuckov]

Thanks Egluntine, you should have a special Omlet badge for services rendered to dimwit first time chicken keepers!

 

Oh, and happy 17,000th post

[FruitandNutCake]

Here is another question that someone might be able to answer! Does an egg lose nutrients if it is baked in a cake - as it is cooked longer?

[Egluntyne]

Thanks Egluntine, you should have a special Omlet badge for services rendered to dimwit first time chicken keepers!

 

Oh, and happy 17,000th post

 

Ta muchly....on both counts!

[redhotchick]

What is a female chicken called before 1 year old?

Is it a pullet?

I always call my girls hens, not technically correct, but a term of affection!

[Egluntyne]

What is a female chicken called before 1 year old?

Is it a pullet?

 

It is!

[surferdog]

We call ours hens too but that's to stop the Roxy dog making the association between chicken (her favourite dinner) and the weird things in the garden