Some animals lay eggs — Biology, 4–6 years
An egg can hold the start of a new animal and protect it while it develops. Birds are not the only animals that lay eggs.
The egg is a safe beginning
An egg contains a tiny developing animal and food for it to use. A shell or soft covering helps keep the inside safe, so the young animal can grow before it hatches.
Why lay eggs?
A young animal cannot always live inside its parent until it is ready. An egg lets the parent leave the developing young in a protected place, while the egg holds food and keeps it together.
A hen's egg
First, a hen lays an egg. Next, she keeps it warm by sitting on it, or a machine does this in a hatchery. After about three weeks, a chick may break the shell and hatch, if the egg was fertile.
Not every egg hatches
It is easy to think that every egg must become a baby animal, because eggs in stories often hatch. But an egg may not be fertilised, or it may be damaged or kept at the wrong temperature.
Eggs in nature
Birds, turtles, frogs, fish and many insects lay eggs, although their eggs look different. A nest, pond or leaf can be the safe place where the next animal starts its life.
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