CHICKENS IN AGRICULTURE
Chickens are raised by humans primarily for their meat and eggs.
Domestic chickens vary in appearance based on their breed. Different breeds of chickens are categorized as either broilers or layers. Broilers are meat producers which grow faster and have more muscle than layers. Layers are smaller than broilers, but they lay eggs more frequently.
EGG PRODUCTION
A female chicken is called a hen and a male chicken is called a rooster. Layer hens will lay 1 - 2 eggs per day and hens don't need a rooster to lay eggs.
Chicken eggs come in a variety of colors - white, cream, brown, blue and even green. The breed of the hen determines what color eggs she will lay.
Other than appearance, there are no major differences between eggs of different colors or from different breeds of chickens.
CHICKEN BREEDS AT TRADEWINDS
All the chickens at Tradewinds park are layers or dual-purpose breeds (used for both meat and eggs). Below are some of the breeds you may see at the park. For more information about a particular breed, click on the breed name to visit the Livestock Conservancy Website.
