Useless fact of the week

As I lay on a bench taking a break during my 35 mile bike ride today, I began thinking about the brownies I made last night...

Those weren't as good as I had hoped.
I followed all the instructions.
I even used eggs. I don't typically buy eggs but I wanted them to turn out right so I used eggs.
Eggs are gross.
Eggs are chickens that never became chickens. Gross.
If one thing was different, the egg I'm expected to eat, would've been a fully alive, furry chicken.
Gross.
How does that happen? Like, how does an egg we eat not become a chick?
I remember science teachers saying our eggs are "unfertilized." Gross.
What's that even mean?
How does a rooster fertilize an egg? Does he sit on top of it for 3 days or something?
Why do I now know how this happens?!!! 
I've been in school for how many years and paid how many thousands of dollars in tuition????

My parents are pretty sure I've got a first-class education and I'm pretty dang smart, so if I don't recall an teachers mentioning this, I bet you don't know how it happens either (unless you're my cousin Brent who is in agriculture school or my friend Cara who lives near Amish-land-Pennsylvania).

 Let me take you through the process...

It is a known fact that hens lay eggs. However, what is not very well known is that hens can lay eggs with or without the presence of a rooster. For the eggs to be fertilized, the hen and rooster must mate first, and this process must occur prior to the formation of the egg. Thus, if the hen has mated and she lays an egg, then that egg is fertilized. If the hen has not mated and she lays an egg, then that egg is unfertilized. Note, however, that the embryo of a fertilized egg does not undergo any change or development once it is placed inside the fridge. It has also been said that a hen lays fertilized eggs for a week if it has mated even once.

Hen (left) and Rooster (right), get your knowledge here

seriously?

You can tell fertilized chicken eggs apart from unfertilized ones by candling eggs. This is a process traditionally used by farmers. In this process, hold the egg up to the candlelight so you can point out the blood spots and embryo. You will notice some eggs may appear opaque. These opaque eggs are the fertilized ones. Nowadays, you can find lights made specifically for candling eggs, but you may use the candlelight if you wish to do so.

If you crack the egg open, you can also see some differences between fertilized and unfertilized eggs. You can see the white circle present in the egg yolk is more defined in fertilized chicken eggs than in their unfertilized counterparts. You can also see small red lines running along the surface of the egg yolk. People commonly mistake the chalazae, a white stringy material found inside the egg, to be the embryo, but this is not so. The chalazae functions as a sort of barrier to prevent eggs from breaking. It is also found in all eggs.

One question floating among avid egg-eaters is if fertilized eggs are safe for consumption. The answer is yes. It is perfectly okay to eat fertilized eggs. Also, as mentioned in the previous paragraphs, once the fertilized egg is stored inside the fridge, the embryo no longer undergoes any change or development. Rest assured that you can eat your fertilized chicken eggs just fine like the unfertilized ones. 

Thank you localharvest.org for answering my question.

Right now, you may judge this as useless information, but just log it away for a moment when you don't know what to say then dazzle audiences with your knowledge. I put a new useless fact on my fridge each week so I'm always learning these tidbits. Note: be aware of your audience. You may not wish to engage as an expert on this topic with farmers at your local farmer's market or any Amish.