Which end of the egg comes out first?

[Doughknob]

The pointed end or the fatter end? And how do you know?

 

[Jstpssng]

Pointed end. If you look on the fat end you will often notice it's a bit rougher. The eggs are soft when they come out but harden quickly when exposed to the air.

My hens don't lay perfect eggs though, so often it's hard to tell which is pointed and which isn't.

 

[npalen]

Well its just a lot easier on the hen if the tapered end comes out first, right?

 

[Jstpssng]

An Xray of Hen Laying an Egg

In a previous post by Windy Ridge "What is the strangest place your hens have laid an egg?" I was reminded that my late hen Ginger had laid an egg on the examination table while being xrayed! I had sort of forgotten about it...but we had persuaded the vet to let us keep the xray film for 4H...

www.backyardchickens.com

 

[Sawyer Rob]

And here I thought the "tapered" end came out "last", so their butt didn't slam shut!

SR

 

[2LaneCruzer]

And here I thought the "tapered" end came out "last", so their butt didn't slam shut!

SR

I thought that was common knowledge!

Which end of the egg comes out of the chicken first?​

By Cecil Adams

Mar 29, 1996, 12:00am CDT

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Dear Cecil: On a recent afternoon around the lunch counter, my colleagues and I were discussing the attributes of the chicken egg when someone asked, “Which end of the egg comes out first, the round end or the pointed end?” Of course we all took a position, and while wagering of serious money did not take place, our reputations are on the line. I naturally thought of you to answer this question. Mark Olson, Las Vegas, Nevada

Cecil replies:
Cecil replies:
My initial thought was: these guys have been spending too much time playing the nickel slots. The more I thought about it, however, the more this question began to nag. At last I turned to Cornell University professor Kavous Keshavarz, poultry czar on the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board. According to Professor K., the egg initially moves through the chicken’s oviduct small end first. When it reaches the uterus, however, it hardens (that is, the shell calcifies), rotates 180 degrees, and makes the rest of the trip big end first. This may sound like doing it the hard way, but actually it’s the most efficient way to push the egg. When the muscles of the chicken’s uterine and vaginal walls squeeze the egg’s small (i.e., back) end, it squirts forward and out into the cold cruel world.
Cecil Adams
Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.

 

[Jstpssng]

I thought that was common knowledge!

Which end of the egg comes out of the chicken first?​

By Cecil Adams

Mar 29, 1996, 12:00am CDT

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Cecil replies:
Cecil replies:
My initial thought was: these guys have been spending too much time playing the nickel slots. The more I thought about it, however, the more this question began to nag. At last I turned to Cornell University professor Kavous Keshavarz, poultry czar on the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board. According to Professor K., the egg initially moves through the chicken’s oviduct small end first. When it reaches the uterus, however, it hardens (that is, the shell calcifies), rotates 180 degrees, and makes the rest of the trip big end first. This may sound like doing it the hard way, but actually it’s the most efficient way to push the egg. When the muscles of the chicken’s uterine and vaginal walls squeeze the egg’s small (i.e., back) end, it squirts forward and out into the cold cruel world.
Cecil Adams
Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.

I read something similar last night. However, the link I posted actually shows an xray of a chicken laying an egg, and it's definitely coming out with the small end first.

 

[npalen]

This thread, in all of its eloquence, does not answer the important question of which came first.

 

[Jstpssng]

This thread, in all of its eloquence, does not answer the important question of which came first.

The egg, of course. They've been around much longer than chickens have.

 

[Doughknob]

So normally we get eggs in the nest boxes. But last night i found this one on the floor just outside the nest box wall. Likely would have cracked much more had it fallen out of a box. I think a hen laid it there on the wood floor with less shavings than in a nest box.

Pointed end is cracked. Makes me think the pointed end came out first and hit the floor!

 

[npalen]

The egg, of course. They've been around much longer than chickens have.

So where did the egg originate?

 

[Doughknob]

The egg, of course. They've been around much longer than chickens have.

I agree with this in every sense.

 

[Doughknob]

So where did the egg originate?

Likely a mutation from some other distant egg laying relative of the chicken.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Likely a mutation from some other distant egg laying relative of the chicken.

Chickens are related to dinosaurs (which have been extinct for 65 million years) and dinosaurs laid eggs.

 

[npalen]

So which came first, the dinosaur or the egg?

 

[Jstpssng]

So which came first, the dinosaur or the egg?

The dinosaur. They crawled up out of the slime and muck, looked at each other and said "EWW". Our kids are NOT going to go through what we did! We're going to invent the egg.

That worked great for an eon or so, until somebody invented the shell phone and there weren't enough resources for both eggs and phones.

 

[scaredychicken]

This thread, in all of its eloquence, does not answer the important question of which came first.

The egg, of course. They've been around much longer than chickens have.

I'm still going with the chicken ... referencing Genesis 1 (NIV)

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.


As I drive down my road, I keep having to stop for my neighbour's chickens as they are crossing the road. The chickens look up, but do no answer. My neighbour is still doing research on this. My guess is that they cross the road, because it is there. My chickens do not engage in the raod work activity.

Strangest locations that i have observed the activity of an egg being laid, is in mid-flight (when the bird was startled, getting out of my way as I gathered eggs) about a foot of the ground, landing softly in the shavings. I have also observed a chicken sitting on the edge of a water bucket, lay the egg into the water. Strange critters.

 

[Jstpssng]

Strange critters.

They are. The only way that I could ever break even on my birds was if they started laying golden eggs; several per day for a month or so. But it's a fun hobby and really doesn't cost that much. I have (2) two+ year old layers left and am unsure if I want to get more or let them fade away. My dog likes the livestock so I will probably keep going until he is gone. Then there won't be an animal on the place, as I want to do some travelling if they ever get the plane situation squared away.

 

[dannoGT]

This thread, in all of its eloquence, does not answer the important question of which came first.

I was thinking the same thing! So to solve this once and forever. I ordered one of each from Amazony and I will tell you tomorrow!

Danno

 

[Doughknob]

……Strange critters.

Yes. And very funny to watch sometimes. Every day when we open the run gate, all 11 go running as fast as they can for the bird feeders on the other side of the house, where the scattered seed from the flying birds is on the ground. Comical as heck to watch the race.