Baby chicks are so cute with their bright eyes, tiny beaks, legs and feet, and their little bodies covered with soft, yellow fuzz! The Lord Jesus enjoys these little creatures too, for they are part of His marvelous creation.
Do you know where they come from?
You might answer, “They come from an egg.”
Right. But where did the egg come from?
“It came from a chicken,” you reply.
Both answers are correct, but let’s see just how the Creator has it happen.
Most eggs laid by hens these days are “infertile” and end up being used for cooking. Baby chicks can’t come from these eggs, but when there is a rooster in a flock, the hens produce fertile eggs, which are the beginnings of baby chicks. Fertile eggs begin inside a hen’s body as a single cell too small to see. This single cell is smaller than a pinhead.
A microscope would show a white spot (called the germ-spot) resting on the yolk, which is formed first. As the yolk is released from the ovary of the chicken, it enters a chamber where the egg can be fertilized. Next, a thick albumen (the white of an egg) forms around the yolk. As it then passes through the hen’s body, this layer gets twisted, forming strong strands that will keep the yolk in the center of the albumen. Around this, two tough, flexible membranes are deposited.
The whole process of making an egg takes about 24 hours. The next step takes the longest. The egg enters the shell gland, where it stays about 10 hours. First, a thinner albumen enters through the flexible membranes to plump up the egg, making the thinner egg white we see when we crack an egg. Next, calcium is deposited all over the outside of the egg in little crystals, leaving tiny holes where air can pass through. A layer of protein is deposited over this which is solid, but it still allows gasses to pass through to the egg. These two layers protect the inside of the egg from germs as well as from damage. After the egg is laid, a little air space develops between the two membranes surrounding the egg, which the developing chick will need to breathe.
As the verse at the beginning of this article reminds us, the birds have nests in which to lay their eggs, but when the Lord Jesus came to earth He had nowhere to lay His head. What a loving Savior He is. “[You] know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that [you] through His poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:99For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)).
(to be continued)
Did You Know?
Fertile eggs begin inside a hen’s body as a single cell too small to see.
Messages of God’s Love 8/25/2024