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

[Kait27]

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!!

 

[speckledhen]

Well, that's a new one on me, LOL.

 

[Matt A NC]

There is ALOT of misinformation that people have themselves convinced it is true. Even if you tell them the facts they will argue till the end of time.

I have caught an egg that a hen was pushing out on the roost. I think I can be fairly sure they are not laid soft. A little sticky till the bloom dries in a matter of seconds, but that is it.

Also removed hard shelled eggs out of hens that we have processed.

Matt

 

[Kait27]

And if this were the case, wouldn't egg-bound-ness be kind of a null issue?

 

[woodmort]

File that with the having to have a rooster in order to get eggs.

 

[math ace]

I LOVE IT when people tell me this.

If they are ladies - - - I calmly explain that women drop eggs every month with or without a man.
We only need a man to have a child. They think about it for a minute and the light bulb goes off . . . .

 

[kipper]

BS, yes!

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I heard that one too when I was new to chickens. Then one of my girls laid an egg right in front of me and I picked it up. Warm and sticky,yes. Soft, ummm .... No.

 

[Kait27]

lol. i worked on a farm for 6 summers during high school and college, and now that I work in a city office people still have a hard time believing that I might actually know a thing or two about chickens. When I told people at work I was getting chicks last year, one guy told me "You know you have to feed them, right?" What, really? I just assumed that because they're made of chicken, they'd eat each other. I have to FEED them? Then he went on to say he thought it was neat, because he'd never actually seen a live chicken. :face palm:
I still have a hard time convincing him that you don't need a rooster... and he's a father of two! I finally just broke it down. Look buddy, a chicken lays an egg like a woman has her period. She ovulates and releases an egg whether or not there's a dude around. The only influence a man has is whether or not that egg is capable of growing into a baby.
Or when I've told people my production is down and the ladies aren't laying as well. "Oh, well, they must be lonely. They need a rooster to make them lay better!" Really? darn. Why didn't I think of that?

Why are there so many preconceived notions about chickens? Do you think if I had camels or alligators, people think they knew so much?

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Well, you KNOW camels store water in their humps, you just have to tap 'em with a spigot if you're in the desert and thirsty. And if you have trouble with a male aligator, why, just cull him - he'd make great shoes and a purse! Identify him early so you can feed him colored food and get really pretty gator leather.