Which end of the egg comes out first?

   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #1  

Doughknob

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The pointed end or the fatter end? And how do you know?
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #2  
Pointed end. If you look on the fat end you will often notice it's a bit rougher. The eggs are soft when they come out but harden quickly when exposed to the air.

My hens don't lay perfect eggs though, so often it's hard to tell which is pointed and which isn't.
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #3  
Well its just a lot easier on the hen if the tapered end comes out first, right?
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #4  
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #5  
And here I thought the "tapered" end came out "last", so their butt didn't slam shut!

SR
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #6  
And here I thought the "tapered" end came out "last", so their butt didn't slam shut!

SR
I thought that was common knowledge!

Which end of the egg comes out of the chicken first?​


By Cecil Adams

Mar 29, 1996, 12:00am CDT








Dear Cecil: On a recent afternoon around the lunch counter, my colleagues and I were discussing the attributes of the chicken egg when someone asked, “Which end of the egg comes out first, the round end or the pointed end?” Of course we all took a position, and while wagering of serious money did not take place, our reputations are on the line. I naturally thought of you to answer this question. Mark Olson, Las Vegas, Nevada
Cecil replies:
Cecil replies:
My initial thought was: these guys have been spending too much time playing the nickel slots. The more I thought about it, however, the more this question began to nag. At last I turned to Cornell University professor Kavous Keshavarz, poultry czar on the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board. According to Professor K., the egg initially moves through the chicken’s oviduct small end first. When it reaches the uterus, however, it hardens (that is, the shell calcifies), rotates 180 degrees, and makes the rest of the trip big end first. This may sound like doing it the hard way, but actually it’s the most efficient way to push the egg. When the muscles of the chicken’s uterine and vaginal walls squeeze the egg’s small (i.e., back) end, it squirts forward and out into the cold cruel world.
Cecil Adams
Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #7  
I thought that was common knowledge!

Which end of the egg comes out of the chicken first?​


By Cecil Adams

Mar 29, 1996, 12:00am CDT









Cecil replies:
Cecil replies:
My initial thought was: these guys have been spending too much time playing the nickel slots. The more I thought about it, however, the more this question began to nag. At last I turned to Cornell University professor Kavous Keshavarz, poultry czar on the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board. According to Professor K., the egg initially moves through the chicken’s oviduct small end first. When it reaches the uterus, however, it hardens (that is, the shell calcifies), rotates 180 degrees, and makes the rest of the trip big end first. This may sound like doing it the hard way, but actually it’s the most efficient way to push the egg. When the muscles of the chicken’s uterine and vaginal walls squeeze the egg’s small (i.e., back) end, it squirts forward and out into the cold cruel world.
Cecil Adams
Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.
I read something similar last night. However, the link I posted actually shows an xray of a chicken laying an egg, and it's definitely coming out with the small end first.
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #8  
This thread, in all of its eloquence, does not answer the important question of which came first.
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first? #9  
This thread, in all of its eloquence, does not answer the important question of which came first.
The egg, of course. They've been around much longer than chickens have.
 
   / Which end of the egg comes out first?
  • Thread Starter
#10  
So normally we get eggs in the nest boxes. But last night i found this one on the floor just outside the nest box wall. Likely would have cracked much more had it fallen out of a box. I think a hen laid it there on the wood floor with less shavings than in a nest box.

Pointed end is cracked. Makes me think the pointed end came out first and hit the floor!
 

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