Hens are not silent, but they are pretty quiet.
Hens usually make some noise in the morning when they lay an egg, and then they also squawk when they are very scared or upset. Dogs, children, and lawn mowers are far louder. Hens do not crow like roosters.

Chickens don't stink- but their poop can!
Like most animals, the actual chicken is not stinky. In fact, a hen that is kept in a tidy backyard coop usually smells like nothing at all- they are naturally tidy about their personal hygiene. However, if you do not care for their henhouse and enclosure properly, the build up of chicken poo will become smelly. This is no different from an unchanged litter box or untended dog's lawn. A smart chicken owner keeps the chickens, neighbors, and their own nose happy by cleaning the henhouse regularly, and raking or otherwise maintaining a clean enclosure. The chicken poo- soiled materials (like wood shavings or hay) can easily be composted in your backyard composter, given to an avid gardener in your neighborhood, or brought to Eko-compost (on Mullan behind Super-Walmart) and recycled in an environmentally friendly way for a small disposal fee.

Healthy hens lay about one egg a day.
For the first one to three years, a healthy hen will lay about one egg a day. Each hen is different, but laying breeds can be expected to lay five or six eggs a week! Also, each year they'll take a three to five week break in laying eggs to grow fresh feathers (called molting), usually in the winter. If you have four egg eaters in your house, six laying hens will be just about perfect and you'll probably have a couple eggs left over to give to the neighbors now and again.

Free-range, or backyard-raised, eggs are different.
Hen's eggs are as nutritious as what they eat. A typical supermarket-type egg is made by feeding the hen industrial chicken kibble- enough nutrients to let her lay eggs, but nothing special. The average backyard chicken gets garden bugs, worms, kitchen scraps, lots of different fruits and vegetables, and often organic feed to supplement. With this more natural and varied diet, the hen produces eggs with a greater potential! The yolks of a backyard chicken's eggs are usually much brighter and firmer than those of a commercial hen, and you know that your hens were happy when they laid.

It is nearly impossible to peel a freshly laid, hard boiled, egg.
There is a membrane inside the shell of every egg that contains both the yolk and the white. This membrane keeps the moisture in the egg, but it is not perfect and it loses a tiny bit of liquid everyday. An egg that is only a day or two old is therefore completely full of liquid, and the membrane is 100% stuck to the egg shell. If you hard boil the egg at this point, you will drive yourself insane trying to peel it. Instead, set aside a box of eggs and wait a week or two! By then, some of the moisture will have snuck out of that membrane, and you'll be able to separate the egg's tasty contents from the shell.

Dirty eggs should not be washed.
It is actually worse to wash an egg that has some dirt or poo on it then to just leave it alone. This is because the egg shell is sealed with a "bloom" of protective natural oils. If you wash off these oils, the egg will spoil faster. If you just leave it alone, and then wash it just before you crack it open or boil it, your egg will be more hygienic, not less! If you must wash it, once you've dried it off you'll have to gently coat the egg with a thin layer of vegetable oil to re-protect it.