eggs and oxygen
Posted by sally kentch on October 16, 2006
Q: I know that salmon eggs need oxygen. Do bird eggs also need oxygen? Is the shell permeable? If the bird fetus survives on material inside the shell, when do bird lungs develop? At what point does the bird start breathing oxygen on its own if it originally uses oxygen from material inside the egg?
Thanks!
State: Washington
A: We did a unit on eggs and eggshells that will answer some of your questions but be sure to also use our "search our questions" part too for answers. Check out our unit at: www.enaturalist.org
The lungs of birds develop right along with other organs but don't become funcitional (begin to actually work) until the chick uses its bill to break through the egg lining at the blunt end of the egg. Once the baby gets its bill into the air-chamber a few days before hatching it can breathe in a wee bit of air and begin using its lungs. Of course, once the egg is cracked, the baby will get plenty of air for breathing. Hope this helps and thanks for asking.
John Wiessinger ( October 17, 2006)