Kiwi-egg
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- stewardez
my respect for the female kiwi is great:
The female kiwi must consume three times as much food as usual to produce her huge egg, which is one of the largest, in ratios to her size, of any bird in the world. This egg is six times the size of a normal bird of her size would lay and contains the largest proportion of yolk. The kiwi egg has a smooth, thin, white or greenish-white shell and is about 120mm long and 80mm in diameter .One would expect the kiwi to have an egg about the size of a hen's, but. the egg is about the same size as the moa's, which makes people think that the kiwi was once a much bigger bird
The production of a large egg is a big effort for the female kiwi. A pregnant female's belly expands so much that it touches the ground. It makes up 15-20 percent of her bodyweight. A female will sometimes stand up to her belly in cold water when she is heavy with egg, to help relieve her of the weight she is carrying. Just before it is laid, the egg is so huge it almost fills the kiwi's whole body, leaving little room for food in her stomach. She cannot eat for 2 or 3 days before the egg is laid.
- stewart0
those eggs are BIG
- stewardez0
those eggs are HUGE
