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| Question about Pets:How does a chicken lay an egg? |
A chicken takes about 24- 25 hours to develop and lay each egg. The process begins with a developled yolk being released from a mature follicle. The follicle will bust open at a place called the stigma. This a thin white line around the developed follicle that is void of any blood vessels. There is also a heiracrchy of follicles. The most mature one called F1 will be released first followed by the next one F2 and so on. After the yolk has been released it is caught by the infundibulum. This a funnel shaped structure that covers the ovary. This is also the site of fertilization if there is any sperm present in the tract at that time. Hens can usually store sperm for a week or more. The yolk spends about 18 mins in here. A thin layer of albumen is put on in this section The yolk them travels to the magnum where the thick albumen is deposited around the yolk. The albumin is the white part of the egg when you crack it open. The yolk spends about an hour in this section. The forming egg thens travels to the isthmus. This is where the inner and outer shell membranes are formen. This is the membrane that lines the indise of the egg shell. The egg then travels to the uterus or shell gland. This is where the egg shell is put on. The egg spins around in the uterus and a thin layer of liquid calcium is deposited on the egg everytime it turns until the complete shell is formed. The egg spends about 22-23 hours in this section. Plumping also occurs in this section. This is where water is added to the egg so that it fits within the shell space. This is also where the pigment goes on the egg if the chicken lays colored eggs. The egg then travels to the vagina and then out through the cloaca. The deposition of an egg is a continual process. When one egg is having the shell applied in the uterus another yolk is being released at the beginning of the tract. A chicken will lay about an egg around the same time everyday for about 6-8 days and then she will skip a day. If a chicken was in the wild these 8 eggs would be her clutch. She would sit on these eggs until they hatched and then she would begin to lay again after the eggs hatched, but in todays production facilities she lays about 300 eggs a year.I hope this is evreything you wanted to know about how an egg is laid.
poultry nutritionist
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