DID YOU KNOW?

1 EGGS- PRESS LANE It can take a hen anywhere from 26 to 28 hours to produce an egg, according to Purina Mills Nutrition. 2 SHELL SHOCK The strength of an egg shell is determined by the quantity and type of minerals and vitamins in a hen’s diet, according to the Egg Farmers of Ontario. So a hen that is low on calcium, for example, will lay thin or soft- shelled eggs, or even, on the odd occasion, an egg with no shell. 3 A CRACKING RATIO It can take four pounds of feed to produce a dozen eggs, according to the Purdue University Food Animal Education Network. 4 EGG TIMER Most eggs are laid between 7 a. m. and 11 a. m., according to Purina Mills Nutrition. 5 A PLAN WELL- HATCHED According to the Guinness Book of World Records, a group of Portuguese chefs made the largest omelette in the world in 2012, using 145,000 free- range eggs in one large pan ( measuring over 10 metres in diameter), with 880 pounds of oil and 220 pounds of butter. It took over six hours to cook, and weighed over 6.4 tonnes. 6 HISTORY IS NO YOLK Eggs are presumed to be sold by the dozen thanks to a measurement system dating back to Western Europe as far as the 700s that mandated one egg be sold for a penny, or 12 for a shilling (which was equal to 12 pennies). By 1600, it had become tradition, so that when European settlers came to North America and brought eggs with them, they continued to sell them in easy dozens.