Chicken Anatomy Q: Where do eggs come from ??

Before I had chickens, I really wasn't sure about how eggs were laid and knew nothing about a vent. Now I find it quite amazing how an egg is produced. Not gross at all to me. Every day when I gather my eggs, I thank my girls for their little gifts and I am amazed all over again.
 
Ha so now my 4 year old grandson is smarter than I thought. He's always saying "Mamma has your chickens pooped any eggs out today?" So now I know they do come out the same vent - I didn't know - I'm new at this chicken thing I just assumed there were 2 openings.
 
If they roost in the nests, yep, there will be poop on your eggs. Usually, mine are clean, but sometimes in high production older hens, the cloaca becomes "loose" and you get a wad of poop on that hen's egg. I have one Buff Orp who almost always lays an egg with a poop wad on it, LOL. The egg channel closes off when they poop and vice versa, or it's supposed to.

Interesting. All of my hens lay perfectly clean eggs too, bar one. She is a two year old RIR. She has always laid her eggs with a little blob of poop on top. The nests are squeaky clean (no-one sleeps in the nest boxes) and she herself is clean (I regularly trim fluffy butt feathers if they are that way inclined) but she does this day in, day out.

I guess that is just her way.

Normally I would just scrape off the blob, and pop the egg into the carton in the fridge. If it's terribly bad I'll clean it off with a damp cloth soaked in hot water. But generally I don't wash my eggs.

- Krista
 

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