Unfertilised eggs = eating eggs, fertilised eggs = baby chicks. But how do we explain the concept to a young one
In: Biology
The eggs have to be fertilized before they are laid, before they form the shell. There would have to be a rooster in among the hens that lay the eggs, and he would have to mate with the hens in order to get a fertilized egg.
Most of the eggs you find in the stores are from layer-breed hens that are kept away from roosters so the eggs they lay don’t get fertilized. Layer-breed hens will just lay an egg every 24-48 hours, whether there is a rooster around or not.
Fertilized eggs are still edible, they just aren’t very appealing because they look like they have blood in them.
Sometimes you will find fertilized eggs in the store, and sometimes that is because in the absence of any male roosters in a population of hens, a younger hen will spontaneously change their sex to a male rooster and begin mating with the older hens.
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