Are people really this ignorant about chicken biology?

[old mill poultry]

Yesterday was having a conversation at work about my chickens with non chicken owners. One girl(a nurse by the way) asked me how do chicks get into the egg? I said "well you need a rooster to mate the hen to create a fertilized egg". Well she and another nurse thought the hen layed the egg first and the rooster then mated the egg to produce a chick. Are people really this illeterate when it comes to biology. Keep in mind, these were two fellow rn's I work with. When I explained the facts of life to them about chickens they seemed amazed, jeesh and I thought I had a lot to learn about the breeding of chickens.

edited title of post.

 

[Imp]

Maybe they were thinking of "chicken of the sea"

Imp- That's how some fish breed.

 

[soctippy]

I know what you mean, they often seem to know nothing about where their food comes from. Next time you see them ask them where they think chocolate milk comes from. lol

 

[old mill poultry]

 

[JewellFarm]

LOL, some people never cease to amaze me!!!

 

[LizzyJo]

Not only that, they vote and they drive, too.

 

[agnes_day]

i wondered the same thing when i first started keeping chickens. i had no clue at all as to how an egg was fertilized. luckily i have learned so much from the kind people here!

 

[Bailey1234]

In general, yes. Mostly it is just that they have never stopped to think about all things chicken related. Where you really draw them in is when you can show them the difference between a store bought egg and an egg that was collected today. People who are naturally curious will generally appreciate a bit of chicken education as long as you don't come accross as "that crazy chicken flake."

 

[Missouri Maiden]

Last week I was showing some pictures of my chickens to my friends and they asked me if this one chicken had cancer on it's head. And I had to explain that it was a comb and the chicken was perfectly healthy.

 

[ArizonaNessa]

I have had a lot of people (more than 20 or so) think that the rooster fertilizes the egg after it is laid. Why they think this is beyond me. Everyone single one of them gets that same amazed look on their face when I explain why and why not.