Dumbest Things People Have Said About Your Chickens/Eggs/Meat

[Beekissed]

I never heard of such a thing either so I did a Google of "chicken expel ovary". I won't go into detail and it is not a normal occurrence but it does happen. Feel free to Google it if you are interested.

I did and all I found were forum discussions on it and people saying it is so, but never found any real evidence or factual article from a reliable source about it. Lash eggs that people are discussing in these forums are found in old chickens...right alongside their ovary... that still has ovarian follicles on it. The shedding of tissue from the oviduct doesn't necessarily mean that they have shed their ovary.

Any real articles on it?

 

[jtn42248]

I did and all I found were forum discussions on it and people saying it is so, but never found any real evidence or factual article from a reliable source about it. Lash eggs that people are discussing in these forums are found in old chickens...right alongside their ovary... that still has ovarian follicles on it. The shedding of tissue from the oviduct doesn't necessarily mean that they have shed their ovary.

Any real articles on it?

I don't know the science of it all and really don't care. I just found the concept interesting enough to look it up and thought I would share those results here. That is all.

 

[Beekissed]

If we can't find any real, solid and reliable information on it and old timers in chickens have never seen it or heard of it, even though they've had their hands and eyes on the insides of hundreds of chickens over the years, I'd venture to say that it falls under one of those dumb things people have said about chickens and is in the appropriate thread. I'll gladly eat humble pie on that thought if someone can produce something, other than "he said, she said, they say", that it's a real phenomenon.

 

[tandykins]

Actually chickens have 2 ovaries, but in 99% one becomes nonfunctional when they are chicks. Leaving 1% who have 2 functional ovaries.

http://extension.psu.edu/animals/po...reproductive-system-and-fertilization/the-hen

Yup. They all have both ovaries but practically speaking only have one functional ovary. Biology is fascinating.

 

[tandykins]

If we can't find any real, solid and reliable information on it and old timers in chickens have never seen it or heard of it, even though they've had their hands and eyes on the insides of hundreds of chickens over the years, I'd venture to say that it falls under one of those dumb things people have said about chickens and is in the appropriate thread. I'll gladly eat humble pie on that thought if someone can produce something, other than "he said, she said, they say", that it's a real phenomenon.

It may well be purely anecdotal. Most of my knowledge on chickens is based on what I've been told by others - some of which has been suspect (e.g., "You should give your chickens corn in the winter before bed. It will help warm them up." - may or may not be anecdotal) However, based on my knowledge of biology and anatomy and the photos I've seen - I'm inclined to believe that it's at least possible if rather uncommon. However - considering hens' tendency to attack ALL THE meaty things they find, I'm also inclined to believe that hens who do expel an ovary likely often eat it before we've ever seen it.

*shrug* If any of my older hens are attacked by predators but largely intact, you can be sure they'll be dissected and studied. FOR SCIENCE.

 

[Beekissed]

What would be the science behind expelling an ovary? What would make an organ so well anchored to the body suddenly pop off and find its way to the oviduct and out of the body...especially in an older bird? If you'd ever seen inside a chicken you'd know of which I speak. One can hardly even CUT these out of the carcass, they are so well attached. They can and will shed the lining of the gizzard as it doesn't have that sort of attachment and it will slough off as new lining is grown underneath the old.

Old age doesn't make them any more detachable...if anything it makes them even more fibrous and tough to cut loose. Most just cut as much away as they can but one can rarely cut the root of the organ away from the fascia overlying the backbone. I think most anything is possible in this world, but not likely to be probable...especially in the case of an ovary getting pried loose of it's anchoring enough to be expelled.

I've never opened up a hen and found she was missing her ovary in the past 38 yrs and neither has my mother before me or my grandmother before her...that would have been something they would definitely have mentioned. We always examine that part closely to see how many eggs a bird still had in formation, what size the follicles are, etc.

Not wanting to push the matter too much, but the thread is a humorous take on dispelling silly untruths about chickens, so it's a tad ironic that one would surface here as fact. Just had to point out that it's a prime example of one of these....much like the chalaza being sperm from the rooster.

Here's a pic of an ovary and where it is attached in a 5 yr old hen of mine. I cut this bird in half to show exactly where all the organs lie in the bird. You can see the ovary and the small egg forming there, as well as the follicles surrounding it. You can also see the root of that organ well attached to the fascia overlying the backbone.




The next pic is of the same bird and I have spread out her oviduct to show it more clearly so others can see the nature of this organ. This pic shows even more clearly how well attached the ovary can be. I had to cut that loose with a sharp knife and it took some doing.

 

[tandykins]

What would be the science behind expelling an ovary? What would make an organ so well anchored to the body suddenly pop off and find its way to the oviduct and out of the body...

The same could easily be asked about human women and prolapse. Honestly? I don't know. More research needed, but if what's being expelled by chickens in those photos isn't ovaries, I'm certainly curious as to what it is. If ever I find something like it in a nesting box, I'll be sure to take detailed notes.

 

[Beekissed]

Prolapse of sexual organs in women is a far cry from completely coming detached and being expelled from the body. I'm a nurse, so I know about prolapse..and a mother of three, so am living with prolapse. Not the same thing at all.

The chicken's oviduct can prolapse as the anchorings are soft, flexible and can stretch easily and the organ is the same...with age this organ can sag, much like a woman's vagina, uterus, bladder and rectum.

The anatomy of a chicken's ovary makes it highly unlikely that it would detach and be expelled. Sloughing of diseased follicles or adjacent tissue? More likely. The whole ovary? Not so much.

 

[sunflour]

Yup. They all have both ovaries but practically speaking only have one functional ovary. Biology is fascinating.

Yes it is. I didn't know they had only one functioning ovary til your post…thanks.

 

[Peep_Show]

I'd imagine if both ovaries were fully functioning the chicken would probably keel over from egg-laying exhaustion. Would that be two eggs a day? I want one of those birds!