SC - Apple butter

[Stefan li Rous]

Johann von Metten, poultrier, gave some good info on chicken eggs
and said:
 
> Supposedly some NUTS think that fertilized eggs are healthy/immoral/ 
> etc... because they might contain embreyos!! Nonsense!! Even in ferile 
> eggs, nature has evolved so that an embreyo will not even form unless 
> the egg has been held at 100degrees F for 24 to 36 hours. This is what 
> gives the hen the ability to lay a large clutch and still have them 
> hatch all together.

I'm just a city boy, so I wasn't aware of chickens laying a clutch
that then hatch together. So a few more details please. It would
seem that if the chicken continued to sit on the eggs from the time
they were laid that they would still hatch in series. So, does the
chicken lay them in different locations for awhile, and then when
she has a clutch laid, collect them together and then sit on all
of them at once? If the chicken lays one a day, it would seem to
take a week or more to gather a clutch, right? Once the chicken
starts sitting on the eggs, does she need to spend most of her
time there? If so, that would explain an evolutionary reason for
the eggs to be gathered together and done in a clutch since that
would minimize the amount of time the chicken was a "sitting
duck". :-)  Hmmm. I guess this all applies to ducks, too.

- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
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