Have you ever cracked an egg and found a chicken?

[J-rap]

I was at the grocery store yesterday, and a customer behind me was telling me about the dozen eggs she had bought the day before, and when she cracked one open, a whole chicken embryo was in it!  Being in a small town, we all started talking about it then, and it turns out that I was the only one in line who this had never happened to.  Even the cashier said it happens far more than one would think!  They said it was more common among the local egg companies.  

 

Has this ever happened to you?

[DawnM]

Well, yes, but not eggs from a grocery store. 

[SemiSweet]

Nope, that would freak me out though. Blech.

[The Girls' Mom]

Are your eggs local?  I would think it would be extremely rare in commercial eggs because of the need for roosters to make chickens.  Commercial egg farms don't generally keep roosters with the hens.  

Anyway, nope, no chickens in the eggs here.  Even with our home grown eggs.  

[J-rap]

Nope, that would freak me out though. Blech.

 

It would me, too!

[J-rap]

Are your eggs local?  I would think it would be extremely rare in commercial eggs because of the need for roosters to make chickens.  Commercial egg farms don't generally keep roosters with the hens.  

 

Anyway, nope, no chickens in the eggs here.  Even with our home grown eggs.  

 

Yes, there are a lot of local eggs in our store here.  We're in a rural area.

[Laurie4b]

No, it has never happened. I would suspect that one of your local farms has some unusual practices and that is why people in your vicinity have experienced it, Hens don't need a rooster to lay eggs. Those eggs obviously can't develop into a chick. Even if a rooster is allowed among the hens, it means that the eggs weren't gathered every day or that the farmer does not have a good procedure for keeping eggs that are meant to hatch and provide new stock separated from eggs being gathered for eating. In certain East Asian cuisines, eggs with an embryo are considered a delicacy. If a local farm raises  those perhaps that is how the mix up occurred.

[kiana]

I've never ever found one from the store. I've found them in ones from the farm where we found a hidden nest (growing up on a farm makes you crack the egg into a separate bowl every single time) but never ever at a store. 

[Guest]

No, never happened to me. The eggs I have now are from my own hens, no rooster, so i possible at present. I have seen crates of eggs at the food co-op labled "Fertilized Eggs" and I wondered who would choose that intentionally.

[Rosie_0801]

Yes. Most off-putting. :ack2:

[J-rap]

No, never happened to me. The eggs I have now are from my own hens, no rooster, so i possible at present. I have seen crates of eggs at the food co-op labled "Fertilized Eggs" and I wondered who would choose that intentionally.

 

That's really strange!  I can't imagine who would choose that!

[Pawz4me]

Not from a commercial egg. But both sets of grandparents always kept chickens, and my parents did for a few years when I was a kid. So . . . yeah, it happened sometimes.

[DawnM]

You know this is a delicacy in the Philippines.  It is called Balut.  It is duck egg, but similar.

 

(are we allowed to post YouTube?  If not, I will remove.

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

Not likely from a normal commercial egg producer as they don't run roosters. They also would have to not have collected very often and have a hen sitting to move it. I'd be sketchy about how old the other eggs were and the collection processes of the producers if this happened to me.

[Ausmumof3]

No, never happened to me. The eggs I have now are from my own hens, no rooster, so i possible at present. I have seen crates of eggs at the food co-op labled "Fertilized Eggs" and I wondered who would choose that intentionally.

Maybe people with incubators?

[Onceuponatime]

No, never happened to me. The eggs I have now are from my own hens, no rooster, so i possible at present. I have seen crates of eggs at the food co-op labled "Fertilized Eggs" and I wondered who would choose that intentionally.

My guess is they are "potentially " fertilized eggs, because a rooster has free reign. If the eggs were gathered daily and refrigerated, they would be just like unfertilized eggs, except for one thing. Fertilized eggs often have a little blood spot on the yolk. Some people find this disgusting. That's probably the reason for the label. I buy free range chicken eggs direct from the farmer and some of them do have blood spots.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Onceuponatime

[The Girls' Mom]

My guess is they are "potentially " fertilized eggs, because a rooster has free reign. If the eggs were gathered daily and refrigerated, they would be just like unfertilized eggs, except for one thing. Fertilized eggs often have a little blood spot on the yolk. Some people find this disgusting. That's probably the reason for the label. I buy free range chicken eggs direct from the farmer and some of them do have blood spots.

Unfertilized eggs also have blood spots.  Brown eggs actually have a higher rate of blood spots than white.  It has to do with the egg during formation, not fertilization, although that has been a common misconception.  My Red Rock hens occasionally had eggs with blood spots.  And I didn't even own a rooster.  

[kewb]

It happened to mentor the first time last year. It was rather off-putting. My father used to tell us stories of what a great delicacy the unborn chicken eggs were when he was growing up.

[shawthorne44]

I am glad that has never happened to me.  

 

I've bought eggs from other homeschool moms with free-range chickens.  At first I'd inquire about roosters and specify I didn't want a fertilized one.  Then it was explained to me that even with a rooster the eggs need to be kept warm and not collected right away.  I was also told that a rooster is handy to have in the flock because they somewhat protect the flock and keep the hens in line socially.   

[Amira]

It's never happened to me and I'm grateful because I've bought eggs in plenty of places where it would be more likely to happen.

[regentrude]

No, never.

[catz]

Oh jeez no. I'd be put off of eggs possibly forever! We are currently getting CSA eggs and now I'm paranoid about it. Lol.

[Guest]

I have chickens and no that's never happened. We have two roosters too, and collect our eggs twice a day. We purposely let a broody hen sit a nest and it took almost three weeks for them to hatch. It takes days to get a visible embryo after the hen sets (which is usually after she lays a few eggs which only happens once a day). So that tells you how long they are letting their eggs sitting around under a chicken. Because as pp said, eggs don't develop if they aren't set by a hen or an incubator.

 

I would quit buying eggs from that company. That's seriously bad farm management. Eggs should be collected no less than once a day.....I just can't imagine letting that happen. If you find a hidden nest you obviously don't sell those eggs. That's really inexcusable. Real egg producers don't go gathering eggs from fields. You have nest boxes. It's not an egg hunt every day.

[Pippen]

It happened to mentor the first time last year. It was rather off-putting. My father used to tell us stories of what a great delicacy the unborn chicken eggs were when he was growing up.

 

My grandmother used to butcher chickens and geese, and she would make noodles from the unlaid eggs. I doubt her intent was to create a delicacy, but was most likely motivated from having spent the first half of her life in Russia and Germany during very lean times when every potential food source had to be used. I remember my grandfather spreading chicken fat on toas and eating it. (He lived to 93, btw).

[foxbridgeacademy]

Yes, but never store bought eggs. Growing up we had a lot of chickens and several roosters.  Since it was mine or my little sisters job to collect I really had no one to blame but myself.  Now my two little nieces do the collecting..... they're far from diligent.   It's the reason I kindly refuse any offer of eggs from my mother when we visit.

[Lady Florida.]

Yes, but it's been many, many years. It rarely happens with grocery store eggs anymore. 

 

It happened to a friend recently who was shopping at the local BX (her dh is Navy), and apparently it happened to another shopper that same day. 

[Lanny]

Yes it has happened to us.  BAD QUALITY CONTROL...  My wife just gave me a 5 minute explanation (in Spanish)  about how/why this happens.  Basically, if the embryo is advanced, it is extremely easy to detect this, by looking at the egg. However, if it is a brand new embryo, that could easily slip past the Quality Control. 

[bodiesmom]

i haven't had this happen but HAD to respond-

I JUST had a vivid dream about having this happen to me last night. Funny timing of this thread!

[mellifera33]

A local producer labels potentially fertilized eggs as "happy eggs." I give those a pass. 

[J-rap]

My guess is they are "potentially " fertilized eggs, because a rooster has free reign. If the eggs were gathered daily and refrigerated, they would be just like unfertilized eggs, except for one thing. Fertilized eggs often have a little blood spot on the yolk. Some people find this disgusting. That's probably the reason for the label. I buy free range chicken eggs direct from the farmer and some of them do have blood spots.

 

I've definitely had blood spots on my eggs before...  I didn't realize that's what it meant!

[J-rap]

Unfertilized eggs also have blood spots.  Brown eggs actually have a higher rate of blood spots than white.  It has to do with the egg during formation, not fertilization, although that has been a common misconception.  My Red Rock hens occasionally had eggs with blood spots.  And I didn't even own a rooster.  

 

Oh okay, well that's good to know.

[J-rap]

I have chickens and no that's never happened. We have two roosters too, and collect our eggs twice a day. We purposely let a broody hen sit a nest and it took almost three weeks for them to hatch. It takes days to get a visible embryo after the hen sets (which is usually after she lays a few eggs which only happens once a day). So that tells you how long they are letting their eggs sitting around under a chicken. Because as pp said, eggs don't develop if they aren't set by a hen or an incubator.

 

I would quit buying eggs from that company. That's seriously bad farm management. Eggs should be collected no less than once a day.....I just can't imagine letting that happen. If you find a hidden nest you obviously don't sell those eggs. That's really inexcusable. Real egg producers don't go gathering eggs from fields. You have nest boxes. It's not an egg hunt every day.

 

That's interesting, and of course makes sense.  There are several local companies in our area...  I'll have to see if I can find out which one it is!

[SparklyUnicorn]

No way.  I have never seen that. 

[MercyA]

I have seen crates of eggs at the food co-op labled "Fertilized Eggs" and I wondered who would choose that intentionally.

 

I think sometimes it is seen as proof that the hens are really cage-free and living a more "natural" life. 

 

It bothers me, though, and I wouldn't buy them intentionally.

[Onceuponatime]

Unfertilized eggs also have blood spots. Brown eggs actually have a higher rate of blood spots than white. It has to do with the egg during formation, not fertilization, although that has been a common misconception. My Red Rock hens occasionally had eggs with blood spots. And I didn't even own a rooster.

Well, that's an example of not checking my "facts." I learned something today. 😃

[Xahm]

When I was in Russia I was told they considered fertilized (but undeveloped) eggs healthier, I think because they were seen as more "complete." I was nervous, but even there I never got a visible chick.

[Guest]

I think sometimes it is seen as proof that the hens are really cage-free and living a more "natural" life.

 

It bothers me, though, and I wouldn't buy them intentionally.

It bothers me to think they are fertilized eggs, a potential baby chicken. I don't want to eat an embroyonic chicken, even if it is too microscopic to see it.

 

(Yes, I realize how much of a non sequitor it is that I am not a vegetarian and am apparently not at all bothered by eating an older chicken.)

[mamiof5]

No, no, no, thank goodness it has never happened, and I hope it never does. I like eggs, not sure I could ever crack another one if that happened? No way.

 

I have thought about it (as a "what if?"), but talk myself out of it really quickly.

[angelica]

No, never happened to me. The eggs I have now are from my own hens, no rooster, so i possible at present. I have seen crates of eggs at the food co-op labled "Fertilized Eggs" and I wondered who would choose that intentionally.

 

I used to buy fertilized eggs at trader joes and didn't really make the connection until a cashier told me about I could hatch the eggs. Then the next day I heard a noise coming from the eggs and freaked out. I've been vegetarian for half my life now, over 15 years and that situation made me swear off eggs for a good while. After watching that video linked I can't even fathom eating eggs now. I might just have to go vegan because this makes me want to barf now.

[J-rap]

I used to buy fertilized eggs at trader joes and didn't really make the connection until a cashier told me about I could hatch the eggs. Then the next day I heard a noise coming from the eggs and freaked out. I've been vegetarian for half my life now, over 15 years and that situation made me swear off eggs for a good while. After watching that video linked I can't even fathom eating eggs now. I might just have to go vegan because this makes me want to barf now.

 

I'm surprised Trader Joe's had fertilized eggs.  Why would they do that?  And I couldn't watch that video very closely!  haha    I think you probably shouldn't have watched it at all!  

[Guest]

You know this is a delicacy in the Philippines. It is called Balut. It is duck egg, but similar.

 

(are we allowed to post YouTube? If not, I will remove.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zus73ayZiXA

Yes, I was traumatized by balut last year - I thought I was getting duck eggs, and I was, but not the way j was thinking :o

[goldberry]

:ack2:  :ack2:  With those who would likely never go near an egg ever again.

 

At least that would solve my ethical-egg-eating concerns... :ack2:

[G5052]

Probably 4-5 times, but I buy local egg from a variety of sources.

 

Occasionally I'll also get a double yolk one.

[TranquilMind]

I was at the grocery store yesterday, and a customer behind me was telling me about the dozen eggs she had bought the day before, and when she cracked one open, a whole chicken embryo was in it! Being in a small town, we all started talking about it then, and it turns out that I was the only one in line who this had never happened to. Even the cashier said it happens far more than one would think! They said it was more common among the local egg companies.

 

Has this ever happened to you?

No! Ahhh!

[EMS83]

Not to me personally, but when I was a kid, it happened to my mom.  It didn't bother me, but she was clearly disgusted.  So ever since then, I crack eggs into a measuring cup, or just crack them cleanly so I can use one half as a cup to check the contents first.  

[foxbridgeacademy]

It bothers me to think they are fertilized eggs, a potential baby chicken. I don't want to eat an embroyonic chicken, even if it is too microscopic to see it.

 

(Yes, I realize how much of a non sequitor it is that I am not a vegetarian and am apparently not at all bothered by eating an older chicken.)

:iagree:  I like the taste of eggs but I can only eat them if I don't think about what they actually are.... a fertilized egg even in the earliest stages makes me want to hurl.

[RioSamba]

Why do I keep clicking on this thread? It's so disturbing. From time to time I have cracked an egg and found something beige and shriveled. Is it an embryo? I can't let my mind go there. I tell myself, "Oh, it's a protein deposit." I know nothing about eggs, really. Would a protein deposit be a thing? I don't really care to know. That is just what my mind tells me as I throw that egg away and find something else for breakfast.

[Guest]

Why do I keep clicking on this thread? It's so disturbing. From time to time I have cracked an egg and found something beige and shriveled. Is it an embryo? I can't let my mind go there. I tell myself, "Oh, it's a protein deposit." I know nothing about eggs, really. Would a protein deposit be a thing? I don't really care to know. That is just what my mind tells me as I throw that egg away and find something else for breakfast.

This may be an ignorance-is-bliss moment.

[Tanaqui]

I have seen crates of eggs at the food co-op labeled "Fertilized Eggs" and I wondered who would choose that intentionally.

 

Some people think it's healthier, that it has more nutrients or something. And for fertilized eggs past an early state of development, those can be a delicacy in some countries. I'm a bit squeamish about it myself, though logically speaking if I'm okay eating chicken and duck and turkey (and I am) and I'm okay eating eggs of those species (and I am) then there really should be nothing special about fertilized eggs, especially at an early stage of development when there's no real... stuff to contend with. (Bones, organs, feathers, you know.)

Edited September 12, 2016 by Tanaqui

[Pam in CT]

Yeah, twice.  I lived in the Philippines for a while and tried balut, exactly once, cuz, when in Rome.  A guy with a cart came through the neighborhood at dawn every morning bellowing out balut! balut! and the wives would run out and buy them.  So that time was on purpose.

 

 

The other time, I got a dozen "farm fresh" eggs from some roadside stand on our way back from Maine.  I do believe that experience was what drove my then-7, now-13 year old daughter into vegetarianism.  It's one thing when you expect it, quite another not to expect it...