May is National Egg Month and we will be celebrating throughout the entire month here at the McMurray Hatchery. Eggs are not only high in protein but they provide essential amino acids that are vital to a healthy and balanced diet. To help kick off the month, we thought we’d share some facts about eggs that you may or may not know.

Did you know…

  • The average American eats over 250 eggs a year.
  • Candling an egg refers to shining a light source through the egg shell to determine if there are double yolks, blood spots, if the egg is fertile or not and other interior defects.
  • The largest egg was laid in 2010 by Harriet the hen. The egg measured 9.1 inches in diameter.
  • A hen’s diet determines the color of the egg yolk and has nothing to do with its nutritional value. A dark yellow yolk means the hen was probably fed more green vegetables. A medium-yellow yolk means the hen was probably fed a diet of corn and alfalfa and a light-yellow yolk means the hen consumed a diet of wheat and barley.
  • Salvador Dali was obsessed with eggs and often included them in his paintings. The roof of the Dali museum is lined with gigantic eggs.
  • In 1911, Joseph Coyle, a newspaper editor from British Columbia, invented the egg carton to solve a dispute between two locals who were quarreling about broken eggs.
  • It is commonly stated that a chef’s hat has one pleat for each way you can cook an egg.
  • When an egg is laid it is about 105 degrees Fahrenheit.