Eggsplanations

Here are a few terms you need to know to get around a layer barn:

Breeder farms: Hens (mature female chickens) are kept with roosters (mature males) and lay about 300 eggs a year. Hens lay eggs about each day, which are collected, cleaned and carefully stored, to be sent to the hatchery
Hatchery: Fertilized eggs are incubated and hatch in 21 days. The newborn chicks are vaccinated and beak-trimmed with a laser by trained professionals who work in the hatchery
Pullet: a young hen
Pullet farms: Chicks are transported to pullet farms within 24 hours of being hatched
Layer: hens start laying eggs at 18-20 weeks of age
Layer farms: Egg farmers either raise their own pullets or buy them from pullet farms. Pullets become known as laying hens at 18 to 20 weeks of age when they begin to lay eggs. A hen does not need a rooster to lay the eggs we buy in the grocery store, which are not fertilized (they don't hatch)
White Leghorn: a small bird that lays white eggs, the most common laying hen in Canada
Rhode Island Red: a hen that lays brown eggs, another common breed
Candling: a process where the egg is passed over a strong light to make the interior of the egg visible; this allows the grader to see the condition of the shell, the size of the air cell and whether the yolk is well-centered
Grading: at the grading station eggs are divided into three grades; Canada Grade A eggs are sold in retail stores for household use and are the most commonly bought consumer egg
Egg size and weight: eggs are weighed electronically and separated by size: Peewee is less than 42 g; Small is 42 g to 48.9 g; Medium is 49 g to 55.9 g; Large is 56 g to 63.9 g; Extra large is 64 g to 69.0 g; and Jumbo is 70 g or more