An eggshell may look solid and impermeable, but it has about 8,000 pores that are large enough for oxygen to flow in and carbon dioxide to flow out.
It was John Davy of Edinburgh, Scotland, who proved this in 1863 by pumping pressurized air into an underwater egg and watching thousands of tiny bubbles float to the surface.
So yes, an unborn baby chick can breathe just fine inside the egg.
Related Posts
-
Can a Baby Bird Breathe Inside Its Egg?
A baby bird doesn't start breathing until just before it breaks out of its egg. How then does air get inside the egg for the bird's first few breaths? Though you can't see…
-
How Big is an Ostrich Egg and How Much Bigger is the Largest Bird Egg Than a Chicken Egg?
An ostrich egg is about four inches tall and four to five inches wide, and weigh over three pounds. Ostriches are oviparous, and females will lay their fertilized eggs in a single communal…
-
Where does the expression “a gone goose” (or beaver, chick) come from and What does it mean?
In a previous post, we repeated a couple of amusing but legendary yarns that might account for the expression "a gone coon," but we have been reminded that the coon is but one…
-
Where does the term “baby kisser” come from and What does baby kisser mean?
A "baby kisser" is an aspirant for public office who attempts to win the favor of parents by a show of affection toward their children. Probably the Greeks and Romans had a word…
-
What Does Baby Boomer Mean, and Where Did the Term Baby Boomer Come From?
A baby boomer is someone who was born after soldiers of the Second World War had come home and up to eighteen years later, so the period differs in some countries. In the…
-
How Many Baby Boomers Are There in the United States, and How Old Are Baby Boomers?
The baby-boom generation is different in some countries because it is defined as those children born to families of servicemen returning home after World War II and for the eighteen years following. It…
