Sooo much pooping

[the bradley bunch]

forgive me if this is a ridiculous question to ask but why do chickens lay unfertilised eggs?

 

hubby said to me yesterday that before we got chickens, he thought all eggs would hatch into chicks if incubated

it's also my understanding that a lot of vegans don't eat chicken eggs because they think it's cruel to eat the embryo of a chick, or what would become a chick if it wasn't taken from the chicken.

 

obviously being chicken owners we now know that chickens lay eggs regardless of them being fertilised - but last night the debate was raised of why they do this?..

i can only presume that the chicken species in general wouldn't have done this before they became domesticated, because they'd just be dropping eggs left right and centre in the wild! so is it because of how they've being bred (as domestic birds)?

 

also, this raises the further question of whether domestic ducks lay unfertilised eggs we are planning on getting some ducks, and i'd never thought about it until now but would we need a male for the female to produce eggs (duck) or do they (like chickens) lay regardless?.. because obviously ducks in the wild don't do this

 

omg i'm so confused! it's making me go quakers!

 

clarity please someone!

[Redwing]

Ducks lay eggs regardless too

[SusieB123]

It is just ovulation and many many species lay eggs some wait for them to fertilised internally and some externally I suppose. I don't like to think about it too much incase it puts me off eating them

[the bradley bunch]

It is just ovulation and many many species lay eggs some wait for them to fertilised internally and some externally I suppose. I don't like to think about it too much incase it puts me off eating them

 

thanks susie! sorry to probe some more (i don't wanna put you off your eggs! )... but does this mean that in the wild some birds (and i presume it extends to some amphibians & reptiles) lay unfertilised eggs regularly and just walk away from them or would the animal in question always sit on the egg and try to incubate... i wonder how long they'd sit on a clutch before accepting that they're not going to hatch? and how often they do this each year?

 

i suppose because most wild animals build their nests away from prying eyes for safety, we might never know the answer to these questions

 

but basically it's nothing to do with cross breeding and stuff?

have i got it right that some species (i.e. ducks & chooks) lay eggs regardless of fertilisation and it can be instinct to try to incubate them... which is why sometimes we get 'broody' hens?

so i could get 2 female ducks if i wanted and nature would allow me to still have eggs?!..

 

(sorry for all the questions - my hubby is going to want me to explain this to him later so i need to make sure i got it right! )

[bronze]

I menstruate but don't get pregnant each month too

 

actually I lie but I'm still breastfeeding.

 

I would assume they just walk away from them but I'm not sure wild birds lay quite as often as chickens

[Bertrum]

It is pretty universal in vertebrates that ovulation occurs regularly regardless of fertilisation. As pointed out humans do it once a month as well

What happens 'in the wild'? Usually the egg will be eaten if it isn't fertilised in order to regain all the nutrients that went into making it. Wild birds tend to be quite successful at mating though, so it won't happen too often, plus an ovulation a day is rather a lot.