Production of an Egg

We have established that eggs are a common food item found in most human diets. Yet, I would venture to say that over 3/4 of the population does not know what an egg even is nonetheless how it becomes the hard shelled food product used in everyday meals.

An egg takes about a total of 24 hours.
It begins in the middle with a mature ova. This mature ova is a bright, yellow colored, soft ball of liquid... Sound familiar? Yes the ova or the hen's egg cell is the yolk you eat in eggs. Now after hearing this many get nervous thinking their yolk is fertilized which is not the case at all (unless of course you buy fertilized eggs to eat with which I say to each his own).

The ova drops down into the infundibulum a thin, funnel type structure that catches the ova when it is dropped from the hens ovary. If there was a rooster around and they mated, then this is where the egg would become fertilized; however, almost all commercial laying hen houses do not keep roosters anywhere near their farm in order to be sure they are producing infertile table eggs.

The ova then travels into the Magnum where the albumen (white of the egg) is created around the ova.

The albumen covered ova travels to the Isthmus where the shell membrane is created. The shell membrane is what keeps the egg together. If you see the shell peeled back and nothing is leaking...you will probably see a white colored thin structure...Thats the membrane.

It then travels into the Uterus where it spends most of its time (approximately 18-22 hours) creating the hard shell around the outside of the shell membrane.

After the Uterus, the finished egg travels to the Vagina where a bloom or a cuticle is put on the egg.

Lastly, the egg travels through the colon and out the vent. Many people are completely surprised when they realize the eggs they've been eating comes out of the same place the chickens feces do. Although I do not mean to scare anyone, this is the truth about nature.

However, as producers we do our best in the industry to increase the safety of food for consumers through special washing and regulations for producers.