1

I regularly purchase fresh chicken eggs from a small farm located inside Richmond, Virginia city limits, about three miles from the outdoor market where they are sold. These farmers are diligent and I believe the eggs are extremely fresh, gathered less than a week before sale, kept at room temperature and handled with care. About 25% of all chicken eggs from this farm have the yolk already broken when I crack them open. (Their duck eggs have no such problem.) It's not my cracking technique because eggs from other local farms have intact yolks. Sometimes the broken yolk appears to have been attached to the inside of the shell, so that I cannot get all the yolk out into my frying pan. Now, the farm has a rooster and some of the eggs are clearly fertile; they have a red spot in the yolk. Could the broken yolks be in fact embryos, where the red spot simply is not visible?

The page Why do yolks break so easily (sometimes)? is related to this, but does not seem to answer the question about the rooster's role in broken yolks. That page does say that stress on the hen causes broken yolks; is a rooster's amorous activity sufficient to cause that level of stress?

Jacob Wegelin
  • 111
  • 2

1 Answers1

-1

One factor that can cause easily broken egg yolks is that the hens have a lack of protein in their diet.

"the farm has a rooster and some of the eggs are clearly fertile; they have a red spot in the yolk"

This is a misconception (no pun intended), because all eggs, fertilized or not, contain tiny blood vessels that anchor the yolk inside the egg. It's just that most are unnoticeable.

"Could the broken yolks be in fact embryos, where the red spot simply is not visible?"

No, by reason that the yolk is what becomes the chicken, so it's not possible that a broken yolk is also a chicken.

"related to this, but does not seem to answer the question about the rooster's role in broken yolks"

This is because of the assumption that the rooster does have a role in the broken yolks, which it doesn't.

"Sometimes the broken yolk appears to have been attached to the inside of the shell"

This is caused by the egg sitting too long in the same position so the yolk naturally migrates.

bob1
  • 17,632
  • 33
  • 71
Mr Shane
  • 675
  • 3
  • 12