Chickens are especially interesting birds when it comes to the periodicity and the way they lay their eggs. As a peculiarity, this animal lays eggs regardless of whether it has been fertilized or not . This has to do with the fact that the eggs are the result of ovulation in the hens and this takes place almost daily.
During it, the ovum (fertilized or not) goes from the ovoteca , passes through the oviduct , then into the cloaca and passes through the cavity destined for excretion, open to the outside. When, indeed, a rooster has done its bit, after three weeks a chick will emerge from that egg.
For this reason, normally, a hen lays eggs until the nest is full , an average of between ten and twelve. However, when the hens live in an environment where they are used for production for human consumption purposes, the eggs are removed almost daily, preventing the nest from becoming full and they continue to lay more and more eggs. . And therein lies the secret.
This behavior is extremely rare among birds , because laying an egg usually involves a huge expenditure of energy. Some, in fact, like mosquito nets, only incubate eggs once a year, since they feed their young with certain insects whose annual appearance must coincide with the birth of the chicks.
And it is that feeding is another of the variables that most influence the laying of eggs. According to the article Feeding of laying hens prepared by C. Barroeta, G. Verge-Mèrida , from the Department of Animal and Food Science of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and N. Ciria , the main ingredients that are part of the food of chickens are some cereals (corn, wheat, barley and oats), protein sources (soy flour, sunflower flour and peas), vegetable oils, vitamins and minerals.
That is to say, they tend to be fed from eminently plant-based products , although chickens raised in free-range environments or organic farms also consume insects and worms. But it is also that, in the case of chickens intended to be laid for human consumption, it is essential to ensure that they have adequate levels of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D , which favors the formation of the shell and reduces egg contamination. .
Likewise, light conditions, for example, are also of vital importance to encourage the laying of these animals. Environmental conditions are crucial to define the way in which these processes related to reproduction develop, to the point that a fertilized egg can become artificially fertilized at around 37º Celsius temperature with adequate humidity.
