tiny chick embryo in an egg that someone gave me from his chickens?!?!?

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Does that ever happen? Someone in work keeps chickens and they are laying like mad at the moment so he's bringing them into work to flog. I've had them before and they haven't been wierd in any way, but I cracked one open tonight into a frying pan and there looks to be a little chick embryo (or SOMETHING, anyway) attached to the yolk.

I took a picture and will attempt to put it on my profile!

Yep it happens. I'm guessing he has a cockeral as well. So a fertilised egg that's probably been sat on for a bit in the hen house and started developing. Then would have stopped developing once it cooled down away from the nesting box.

i can't look at your pic. i already struggle with eggs being basically a chicken period without seeing what is basically...well... no i won't look

I would look but your profile pics are still set to private.

I'd look at your pic if I could too.

you killed a chick

never mind eating a roast chicken but killign a chick

Yes. I've seen that several times with free range.

Can you see the photo now? It finally uploaded but you can't see the blobby "thing" in a lot of detail from the photos page. I can see it nice and up close on the original image though!! [barf]

Slarty!!!!!! Don't!!!!!!

I'll be telling the person concerned that I don't want any more of his dead baby chicks thankyou!

Really, Paisley?????? How does it happen? I know nothing about keeping chickens - is it something you just have to expect if it's not an egg from a supermarket?

Sorry, Beaver, read too quick and saw your kind explanation of how it's happened. Do I tell him or not?!?

It is a meat spot - a fragment of oviduct. They are fairly common at this time of year. Not very pretty, but not an embryo.

If there is a cockerel running with the hens, then the eggs are probably fertile, but they would have to be held at 99.5F for several days before an embryo reached the size of the blob in your photo, and there would be a whole lot of other changes as well - not least a network of blood vessels.

I'd pick that off and eat the egg tbh. But I'm not a very squeamish sort of person.

Fully formed chick with feathers = . But that? Nah, no problem.

I only have hens, no cockerels and have had that happen with my hens occasionally. It's either a meat spot or blood spot. Sme of my hens are skittish and whilst the egg is forming if they have a fright they have a small bleed. Usually the eggs are so fresh you can see the red. However, when the eggs are a few days old the blood has 'set' and this is the result. I just fish the bit out. I've seen them on supermarket eggs too.
They can also be pieces of grit that have formed in the system too, but yours looks like it may be a set bloodspot.
Didn't believe it wasn't a chick until I got my own hens!

Neversaydie: Yuck - oviduct or embryo, they both turn my stomach and there's no way I could have eaten that egg! The yolk did look a bit strange too actually - kind of swirly looking, not just one colour all over. I did examine the thing properly with a knife - it was the size of my little finger nail and was quite hard.

Boak!

yep, that's a meat spot.
definitely not a baby.
if it were a baby, it would be in the yolk, not attached to the outside of it.

Interesting - I showed a more close up picture of the egg to the person I got the egg off and he said that yes, he does have a rooster and that it probably was an embryo and blamed the onset of spring for his randy chickens!!!

So there is a difference of opinion! If it WERE in fact a meat spot, could it be as big as mine was - ie. as big as your little finger nail?

it's not as likely as a meat spot, though. they need heat to make babies.

fingernail: could be.