Birds and Their Eggs:
- The ostrich lays the biggest egg, weighing up to 3 pounds and measuring up to 6 inches long. An ostrich egg can feed multiple people and has a unique flavor compared to chicken or turkey eggs.
- The emu, the second largest bird, lays 10 blue-green eggs at once weighing 400-600 grams.
- The bee hummingbird lays the smallest eggs, weighing 0.0009 ounces and measuring 0.275 inches.
Egg Facts and Consumption:
- An ostrich’s 2-inch eyes are larger than its brain, the largest relative eye size of any land animal.
- Americans eat 279 chicken eggs per year, totaling 95 million dozen eggs consumed nationwide.
- Some game birds like pheasants and turkeys lay 8-20 eggs in a single clutch.
- Commercial layer hens in New Zealand produce about 3 million eggs per year. The white leghorn chicken breed holds the record for most eggs laid in one year at 371.
Egg Laying Statistics:
- Layer hens start laying eggs around 18-19 weeks of age and will continuously lay eggs until 72-78 weeks of age.
- Different bird species have different egg laying frequencies depending on health, age, and other factors.
Egg Laying Habits:
- Ostriches have the largest eggs while hummingbirds have the smallest eggs.
- Captive birds may lay unfertilized eggs regularly.
- The average American consumes 95 million dozen eggs from layer hens each year.