Jail Break
Posted by Mrs. Kepka's on April 29, 2005
Q: We hatched some chicks in an incubator. We weighed a chick and an egg on a balance scale. Why is the egg so much heavier than the new chick?
A: So glad you tried this! Be sure to take a look at "Egg Sandwich" www.enaturalist.org
too as this should help answer your question and clarify my answer.
The baby chick in the egg was growing the entire time it was being incubated in the egg. As it grew, it used food from the yolk and water from the egg white. Although it transferred food and water from the egg to its own body, it also lost some moisture from the egg too. Also, the eggshell weighs a bit. So, since the egg is not a sealed container, the water loss from the egg plus weight of the shell shows up when you weigh a chick as compared to an unhatched egg - especially one that has not yet been incubated. Thanks for your excellent question.
John Wiessinger ( April 30, 2005)