Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1915-02-26
ABNORMAL EGGS,

A subscriber recently asked the
reason for abnormal eggs and while
we were making some investigations
OF the authorities along came the
Following discussion of this very
question, by V. r. Mcbride, superin
tendent of the poultry plant at the
Western Washington experiment sta
ton. It's good so we print it in full
And, by the way, poultry raisers
should have their names placed on
the mailing list of the State College
OF Washington, Pullman, so that they
may receive copies of the bulletins as
they are issued:
Eggs are not always laid in per-
rect condition. They are sometimes
deformed and in rare cases have been
found to contain foreign bodies.
These abnormal eggs are all caused
by an unnatural condition of the
ovary and ovaduct during the period
The egg is developing. Some abnor-
NAL eggs have excited much discus
sion; however, if the manner IN
which the egg is formed is known
the cause of such eggs is very easil,
understood.
Gases have been known whe, (,
eggs were partially incubated or stale
when laid. The egg is fortified
when 1t first enters the ovaduc..
Under normal conditions it remains
In the ovaduct from ten to twenty
hours. Inflammation Of the organs
may cause the egg to become lodged
at some point and be held there for
an indefinite time. AS the tempera-
ture of the fowls body is sufficient
to start incubation it is evident that
an egg held in the ovaduct for 4S
hours is stale and partially incubated
II fertile, and unfit for food.
Fresh eggs are sometimes found
to contain blood clots. Such eggs
are often mistaken for eggs that are
partially incubated. Before the yolk
of the egg passes from the ovary
into the ovaduct it is necessary that
the thin membrane which surrounds
it become ruptured. This rupture
usually occurs at point which is
free from blood vessels. In rare
cases where conditions are not nor
NAL this membrane is broken at some
other point where tiny blood vessels
are located. In such cases there will
be a drop of blood escape and pass
with the yolk into the ovaduct.
Eggs frequently contain two
yolks and are known as double eggs.
They are the result of two yolks de-
veloping and dropping into the ova-
duct SO nearly at the same time that
they are both included in the same
shell. Not infrequently we find an
egg within an egg. The first egg is
usually rather small and often con
tains only albumen. On account OF
irritation of the central portion of
the ovaduct the albumen is secreted
without the presence of the yolk. This
albumen is forced by contractions of
the ovaduct downward to the point
where the shell is deposited upon it.
In the effort to expell the egg, abncr-
NAL contractions of the ovaduct are
produced on account of the inflamma-
ton. AS result the egg is forced
back until it comes in contact with
second secretion Of albumen. 1t be-
comes imbedded in this albumen and
4 membrane and shell are formed
around it. The egg then passes on
and is laid.
"The production Of eggs without
shells may be caused by lack of shell
forming material, Inflammation of
the shell forming chamber of the
ovaduct or by the fowls becoming
badly frightened.
"Hens that are comfortably housed.
properly nourished and surrounded
by sanitary conditions produce very
few abnormal eggs"