Hello Again Friends,
It has been a fun journey watching our young chickens begin to lay eggs as they seem to come in all shapes and sizes which has prompted many great conversations about eggs in our house!
Here are a few of the questions the kids had and the answers I came up with!
Q: Eden asked "Mommy why do chickens lay eggs?"
A: Reno’s answer “Because they have to”. Eden asks again with excitement, “Do they poop it out?” My answer to the kids “The chicken has eggs develop in their body each day. When it is ready, they sit in the nest and an egg comes out'“
The real facts: Chickens lay eggs as a part of their reproductive cycle. They are trying to establish a clutch of eggs to sit on, incubate and hatch into chicks. If you collect the eggs every day the hens keep producing eggs in an attempt to collect their clutch. A clutch is a collection, usually about 12 eggs.
Q: Reno asked this one “How do they lay eggs?”
A: My answer: “Inside the chicken’s body there is a tube where the eggs form. Gradually over the day and night the egg gets formed from the yolk first then the shell forms around that and then the white forms inside, then the egg gets harder and when it is hard enough it is let out of the chicken’s body. “
The real facts: Now this is complex, I love the science here! If you’re interested and can handle real science—12 years and up. Watch this video “How Does a Hen Make an Egg” produced by the 4H Extension. If you want an easy to understand and watch check this video out “The Making of an Egg”
Q: Levi’s Question “What determines egg size, why did our chicken’s lay these gigantic eggs, are they all “Double Yolkers” when they are this big?”
A: My answer: ” As we have seen, when chickens start laying eggs they are adorable, small pullet eggs and over the course of 3 months or so they level out to the size they will be for the particular breed. I have seen large eggs laid by older and younger chickens, I am assuming it has something to do with the length of time the egg stays in the reproductive system, if something slows down the process maybe the egg gets bigger?”
The real facts: The in depth answer related the the particulars of the function of the reproductive system that would cause egg size to change didn’t pop up. Most sources simply attribute egg size to genetics and age, nutrition etc. Oddly large or small eggs are definitely related to a hen that is not totally mature yet or older hens. But I didn’t find the scientific explanation I was seeking that would relate the some aspect of process of making an egg to egg size. If anyone knows this fact let me know.
I found that double yolk eggs, where 2 yolks are released into the shell in the egg development process are relatively rare, 1 in 1000! And as you would expect they were hatched as chicks the chicks would be twins!
That’s it for now. There are so many fun facts about eggs aren’t there! Can’t wait to get into the nutritional aspects and a few recipes next time. Take care. Thanks for being here with us. Amy
