Egg

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v50.15 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Eggs are laid by creatures with the [LAYS_EGGS] token, or grown by feather trees. This includes ordinary fowl and reptiles, and also some more exotic creatures such as giant eagles, dragons, kobolds, and many others. Eggs can be used by dwarves as food, or they can be hatched. Eggs can only be eaten raw if at least one of their component materials (yolk, white, or shell) is edible raw; otherwise, they have to be cooked into prepared meals first.

Egg-laying animals will claim an empty nest box if one is available.

Males can also be modded to lay eggs, although these may not hatch.^{Needs clarification}

Hatching Conditions

Hatching eggs requires that the dwarves are prevented from removing the fertilized eggs from the nest box until the incubation period ends in exactly 3 months after they were laid. This can be done by placing the nest box behind a locked door or by forbidding the eggs in the nest box. Forbidding eggs on the kitchen menu will not prevent dwarves from removing them from the nest box — it will only prevent them from being cooked. Similarly, modifying all stockpiles to disallow eggs will prevent hauling jobs, however the eggs remain available for cooking and eating. Fertilized eggs left undisturbed in next boxes will still hatch even if the mother is forcibly removed from the nest box.

Only "pregnant" females will lay fertilized eggs, though as with creatures that give live birth the pregnancy status is not normally visible in game without using third party utilities such as DFHack. The females of a species will never become pregnant if the pet population cap has been exceeded, but those already pregnant before the cap was exceeded can still lay fertilized eggs. Culling or trading away excess animals will allow the females to become pregnant again. In order for eggs to be fertilized, a male of the species must be present (though this does not always guarantee fertilization). Unlike in previous versions of Dwarf Fortress, the male must have spent time with the female to fertilize their seed pouch (the male need not be alive at the time of egglaying, however). One fertilization provides seed for two egglayings. How it works is that the female becomes pregnant for about 6 months (similar to the gestation period of non-sentient creatures giving live birth), during which any eggs laid will become fertilized. In practice the first clutch tends to bring the species population over the pet cap, especially if the species can lay large clutches, so the second clutch can still be fertilized provided the female was still pregnant even after the population cap has been exceeded. Depending on the animal, fertilization chances seem to differ.^[Verify] If the creature is sapient (has any of the [INTELLIGENT], [CAN_LEARN] or [CAN_SPEAK] tokens), then the egg-laying female must also be 'married' in order for her eggs to be fertilized, and she must also have spent time with her husband. (In short, egg fertilization has the same conditions as normal impregnation in the game.)

Egg Production

Fortresses can set up egg production as a source of food. This requires at least one adult, tame, female egg-laying animal, a built and unclaimed nest box, food hauling, and cooking.

Egg Composition

It appears from tests that the material an egg is made out of is actually the shell; this includes meals made from the eggs.

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No dwarf has ever seen a feather tree egg, but all are familiar with the yolk that fills up their trade depots when elves come for trading. This can be traded back to the elves, with no consequence.

What's an egg's least favorite drug?
Crack.

"Egg" in other Languages Dwarven: acöb Elven: amira Goblin: donsmok Human: edi

V · T · E Materials
More: Gems • Metals • Stones
Creature	Blood • Bone • Cartilage • Cheese • Chitin • Egg • Fat • Feather • Hair (Wool • Yarn) • Hoof • Horn • Ichor • Leather • Milk • Meat • Nail • Nervous tissue • Organs • Parchment • Pearl • Scale • Shell • Silk • Skin • Spit • Sweat • Tallow • Tears • Teeth • Wax
Plant	Fiber (Paper • Slurry) • Flower • Fruit • Leaf • Oil • Plant powders (Dye • Flour • Sugar) • Seed (Press cake) • Wood
Creature/Plant	Alcohol • Cloth/Thread • Extract (Golden salve • Gnomeblight • Honey • Royal jelly • Syrup • Venom) • Glob • Liquids • Soap
Inorganic	Metal • Milk of lime • Soil (Clay • Sand) • Stone (Ash glaze • Earthenware • Gem • Gypsum plaster • Porcelain • Quicklime • Stoneware • Tin glaze)
Hardcoded	Amber • Ash • Coral • Filth • Fuel • Glass • Grime • Ice • Lye • Magma • Mud • Pearlash • Potash • Salt • Unknown substance • Vomit • Water
See also: Material science