So there's no such thing as a silly question?

How do you know what are meat birds and what are egg birds? Are the meat birds males, if not surely they would lay eggs. Is it all to do with the food you give them?
I must seem a right numpty, but Ive never known this.

By the way, another of my light sussex girlies has just gone broody. Is it too late in the year to put a couple of eggs under her? I took them out this morning and she nearly bit my hand off.

It's all science now Mary!  Egg laying birds are crossed and bred with all the best egg laying purebreeds to produce lots of eggs quickly, as on the commercial farms they only have 52 weeks to lay then they get the chop!  Even the free range farms!  And all the goodness they eat goes into the eggs.  that's why they are so light when you pick them up!  And why they generally don't live as long as purebreeds.

Most of the hybrids are crossed between the dark birds like Rhode Island Reds and Plymouth rock type birds and the light ones like light Sussex and leghorns

Meatbirds can also have genes from RIR and Lt Sussex in them, as they are good dual purpose birds.  But the goodness they eat goes into meat production.  They can lay eggs if they are hens like one of ours did, but usually they are dead before they come into lay!

With the meat birds you can specify if you only want hens or you only want cockerals, but they work out more expensive.  Its best if you have them 'as hatched', then if they do start to crow, kill those ones first!!! lol

Hope this helps answer your question.

Tell him he doesn't know what he's missing!!!