Egg Shells "Harden when they hit the air?" Um, wtf???

[they'reHISchickens]

But what about the spray painting of Marans eggs as they are coming out???? I read that here on BYC!!!

 

[Ohhhdear]

RE: Soft shelled eggs....
My father in law was laughing and reminiscing with his older sister last weekend about the chickens his parents raised on the farm we all live on. His sister told how they'd catch the eggs as they were being laid, directly out of the hens, and how they'd gently press their fingerprints into the "soft" shells. Their mother used to get angry because fingerprinted shells didn't sell.
My guess is they were really putting fingerprints in the still tacky bloom, warm from the hen's body, not the actual shell.

 

[JPRecon]

That's kinda funny.....There are species of birds and reptiles who's shells do exactly that.....When initially laid the shells are soft and pliable....BUT after a few hours exposed to the air the shells harden

 

[Deb56]

Hysterical, I have lived in a dairy farming area all of my life and it's amazing how many people think a cow just gives milk! Do human mothers just produce milk!!

 

[r6rider]

my duck egg shells are soft are they bad???

 

[Frazzemrat1]

My favorite is the 3rd grade teacher a friend and I loaned an incubator to full of white eggs (easier to see development in).

She announced to the whole class, "White eggs come from hens without a rooster, and so they're infertile. Brown eggs come from a hen with a rooster and have been fertilized."

She was corrected by the friend's daughter immediately, but I'm wondering if she thought the roo went around spraying the eggs with rooster spray, and that colors them, or what?? What the heck does green or blue indicate??

I read a story somewhere where a lady was selling (brown) eggs from her chickens to some college kids once a week. Then one day they came and told her that they couldn't buy eggs from her anymore because brown eggs were eggs that were covered in chicken poo.

Really?! So, instead, go buy your poo eggs from the store...

I was also told by a friend of a friend that I shouldn't be letting my kids do anything with the chickens, not even collect eggs, cause it was dangerous and they'd get sick. Basically, if I let my kids touch so much as a feather, they'd get sick.

 

[Bonniebooboo]

I had actually been told long ago that Chickens laid soft eggs that harden when laid. I never really thought much about that, until I watched some of my hens Lay those eggs right into my hand. The only soft eggs I got were shell-less. So I learned better all on my own.

 

[aart]

my duck egg shells are soft are they bad???

Welcome to BYC!
Best to start a new thread in the ducks forum click the link.
Add details like type and age bird is, how it's housed, and what you are feeding.

 

[Ljc01]

When I was in college getting a degree in Poultry Production, I did a research paper on what peoples thought was the difference between white and brown eggs. I was amazed at some of the answers I got!

 

[Chicky Mama 56]

This is just a story, but I had to share it. I went to our local county fair last night (entered a dozen of my eggs, won a blue ribbon yay! but not the point.)
At any rate, I was in the poultry tent, and I over heard a man who was behind the table, so he was somehow involved, telling a guest that chicken eggs are all laid with a soft shell, and that they harden when they hit the air.
um... is anyone else's BS-alarm going off? I heard that, looked at my boyfriend, and he made me leave the tent before I went over and told that guy he was out of his mind. They're eggs, not play-doh!!

All the answers here made me laugh! Apparently none of you ever have had the experience of seeing the egg the second it comes out. I have, many times with all my different types of chickens, and their eggs are extremely soft when they come out, making it less painful then it would be if it were hard. And the eggs - just like magic, harden up in seconds!