Definition

1. Noun:
   • Layer hen / Broody hen: A female chicken specifically kept for the purpose of laying eggs, not primarily for meat. It refers to a mature hen in its egg-producing phase.
   • Breeder female (bird): More broadly, it can refer to a female bird (e.g., duck, goose) kept for breeding and egg-laying purposes.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trang trại này có hàng trăm con mái đẻ. (This farm has hundreds of layer hens.)
  • Con mái đẻ này cho trứng rất đều. (This layer hen produces eggs very consistently.)
  • Họ tách riêng gà mái đẻ và gà thịt. (They separate the layer hens from the broiler chickens.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in agricultural and farming contexts to distinguish egg-producing livestock from those raised for meat.
• It implies a specific function within a husbandry system.

Variants and Related Words

• Gà mái đẻ (n): A more specific term for a layer hen or egg-laying chicken.

  • Chuồng gà mái đẻ cần được giữ sạch sẽ. (The layer chicken coop needs to be kept clean.)

• Gà mái (n): A general term for a hen (female chicken), which may or may not be currently laying eggs.

Synonyms

• Layer hen: A hen kept for egg production.
• Broody hen: A hen inclined to sit on eggs to hatch them (note: this emphasizes the breeding instinct, which may temporarily stop egg-laying).
• Breeder hen: A hen used for breeding purposes.

Related Idioms

• While there is no direct idiom with "mái đẻ", the concept is related to the proverb:
  • "Nuôi gà mái đẻ": Literally "to raise layer hens," metaphorically meaning to invest in a sustainable source of income or benefit.

    • Đầu tư vào giáo dục giống như nuôi gà mái đẻ vậy. (Investing in education is like raising layer hens.)