Eggs come from chickens. So why are eggs expensive and not chicken?

The short answer is that there are chickens for meat (broilers) and chickens for eggs (layers), and they’re not the same: They’re raised separately and have different lifespans. In fact, for the past several decades, broilers and layers have comprised two entirely different industries in the U.S.

 

“There are two different genetic breeds,” said Sandra Vijn, the managing director of Kipster USA, which supplies eggs to Kroger. “One is raised to grow as fast and thick as possible within six weeks to go to market as meat, and the other is bred to lay as many eggs with as little feed for as long as possible, and those hens live up to 90 weeks.”