Is an egg already hard when it is laid?

Or does it harden immediately after laying? Sometimes there is a rim in an egg, which looks like the chicken had a muscle contraction while laying the egg. If the egg, the shell is already hard, this is not possible.

I once heard that immediately after laying the egg, a liquid is sprayed by the chicken over the egg, which hardens the lime of the shell.

Asker: Wood, 49 years old

Answer

Dear Wout,

The egg shell is already hard before the hen lays the egg and she does not spray any liquid over her eggs. However, the eggs are wet right after they are laid. Due to the heat of the egg, about 40°C, it naturally dries very quickly.

Egg shell malformations, as you point out, may be due to inflammation of the egg-laying apparatus.

Regards,

Kristof

Answered by

Vet Kristof Baert

Wildlife Management and Invasive Species Rodent control: brown rat, muskrat and coypu Wildlife diseases

Is an egg already hard when it is laid?

Institute for Nature and Forest Research
Rue des Clinic 25 1070 Brussels
http://www.inbo.be

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