Chicken Education For City Dwellers

I am going to call this 'Chicken Education Day' for all of us "Urbanites"!
I just learned that hens that have colored earlobes lay colored eggs. If the hen has white earlobes it lays white eggs! How simple is that? I had no idea.. The lobes are typically red, white or blue(how... patriotic). I thought while I am at it.. I will go over some chicken terms, facts and breeds!

Bantam- A miniature chicken
Boiler- A chicken 6-9 months old
Broiler- A 2- or 3-pound young chicken
Chick- A baby chicken
Clutch- Batch of eggs that hatch together
Cockerel- A rooster under a year old
Flock- A group of chickens
Hen- A female chicken
Nest Egg- A fake egg put in the nest to encourage laying
Pullet- A female chicken under 1 year old
Roaster- A chicken weighing 4 to 6 pounds
Rooster- A male chicken

Best 'Eggs Breeds' are Ancona (lays large white eggs), Leghorn (one of the most popular breeds), and Minorca (lays extra-large white eggs). 

Best 'Meat Breeds' are Australorp, Cornish, and Orpington. 

Best 'Dual Breeds' are New Hampshire, Plymouth Rock (one of the most popular breeds), and Rhode Island Red (lays large brown eggs- has the ability to lay 300 eggs a year!).

On average 1 Hen lays 260 eggs per year!

To find out how old an egg is: Place it in water. Older eggs will float, because of their bigger air cells. An egg that is standing upright just about to float is around 2-3 weeks old. Another way to check is when you crack the egg- if the egg yolk stands up it is fresh, if it flattens with the egg white it is an old egg.

My sources are from the book Farm Anatomy by Julia Rothman & This video!