What Is a Chicken Lobster?

By Staff WriterLast Updated March 25, 2020

In New England, small lobsters that weigh between 1 and 2 pounds are commonly called chicken or chick lobsters. It takes a lobster seven years to reach 1 pound in weight.

Lobsters aren’t naturally red but acquire the bright color when they are cooked. Lobsters shed their shells when they have outgrown them, and late season hard-shelled lobsters generally have more meat than soft-shelled ones do for this reason. Lobsters live in caves or crevices and come out at night to scavenge for food on the ocean’s floor. Because of their habitat and nocturnal behavior, lobsters can live to be 100 years old.