2. Second hand hutch that is £45, giving a good saving on the new price of £99. It is in very good condition.Testimonials
13th Oct 2009
Thank you for a very informative morning on Saturday intertwined with some humour! We learnt SO much in just 3hours!
I stuffed the chicken with an apricot and walnut stuffing, and it was delicious, tomorrow I will practise gutting once again!
Kind Regards
Sue & Stephen Hall
Small Pet Boarding
We have indoor and outdoor hutches for Rabbits and Guinea Pigs, just bring your pet and we do the rest. We even store your carry cage until your return.
Pets with their own portable cage such as Hamsters, Rats, Mice, Gerbils, Degus, Chinchilas, Budgies and Parrots come in their cages and live in the dining room. We can also accomodate chickens and reptiles (not together).
We provide all the food and bedding your pets need during their stay with us. Weather permitting, rabbits and guinea pigs have access to outside runs; hamsters get exercise in a ball. This is 'Centre Parks' for pets!
Cost
- Chickens are 75p per hen per night
- Budgies are £1.50 per bird per night, Parrots are £2.50 per bird per night
- Gerbils, Hamsters, Rats, Mice and Degus are £1.50 per pet per night
- Rabbits and Guinea Pigs are £1.50 per pet per night. There is a shared cage rate of £24 per week.
Contact us from the Contact button below with your dates and type of pet to check availability of accomodation.
Home > Support and Advice > Facts About Eggs
Facts about Eggs
1. How to tell a Fresh Egg
a) A fresh egg placed on a bowl of water will sink to the bottom and lie on its side. An older egg will sink and stand up on one end. If really old it will float. As the air cell increases with age, it affects the buoyancy of the egg, causing the egg to float.
b) When broken, the yolk of a fresh egg will sit up high and the white is thick and cloudy around the yolk. An older egg has a flat yolk with a thin skin and a runny, watery white.
c) The deterioration of an egg is due to an increase in the air sac and evaporation from the white and yolk. The yolk and albumen together contain about 65% water, which evaporates over time through the pores in the shell.
d) As water evaporates, the air sac increases in size and the egg contents decrease in volume. These changes cause the egg membranes to stretch in some places and relax in others. This means the egg contents will move around more if the egg is shaken. So shaking an egg can tell the age of it.
e) Can you tell the difference between a fresh egg and a hard boiled egg? Spin it! A hard boiled egg spins longer because the liquid centre in a fresh egg stops it from building up enough momentum.
2. Did you Know?
a) The colour of the yolk will depend on the hen’s diet. They can even be orange if there is a lot of grass meal or maize meal in the feed. Hens ranging on grass in spring and summer will lay eggs with a darker yolk than when ranging in the winter, when the grass has stopped growing. Some layers mash and pellets will contain a yolk enhancer, such as canthaxathin.
b) The white ‘string’ you can see on the yolk is one of two either side of the yolk. They are called chalazae and hold the yolk in place in the middle of the egg.
c) The yolk is packed full of nutrition and the last thing the chick does before hatching is to absorb the yolk. A newly hatched chick has a little fat belly full of yolk. That will provide the chick with all it needs for the first 48 hours.
3. Here’s one for those interested in genetics. The male chicken gets the prolific egg laying factor, amongst others, from his mother and passes it on to his daughters. Thus the sons of a hen displaying the desired quality, or, just as importantly, not displaying undesired qualities, will be used in breed selection. This is particularly important when forming hybrids. For example, Black Rocks are always a first cross hybrid, so are always produced from a Rhode Island Red cockerel and a Barred Plymouth Rock hen. The careful choice of the cockerel will ensure the high quality of the progeny and has contributed largely to the Black Rock’s success.
4. EU Egg Weight Grades
- Very large: 73g and over
- Large: 63g up to 72g
- Medium: 53g up to 62g
- Small: 52g and under
5. If you drop an egg, an easy way to clear it up is to cover it in salt and leave it for 10 minutes. It will then clear up easily.
6. Eggs are one of the few foods to naturally contain Vitamin D.