What does the chicken egg tooth do?

A chicken egg tooth is a small, sharp, temporary tooth-like structure located on the tip of a chick's beak. It's not a real tooth, but a keratinized structure, similar to a fingernail.

The purpose of the egg tooth is to help the chick break out of its eggshell.

Here's how it works:

* Pipping: When the chick is ready to hatch, it uses its egg tooth to tap and peck at the inside of the eggshell, creating a small hole.

* Breaking Free: The chick then continues to peck and rotate, using its egg tooth to chip away at the shell and make a larger opening.

* Exiting: Once the hole is large enough, the chick can push its way out of the shell.

After hatching, the egg tooth falls off naturally within a few days. This is a temporary structure that serves a specific purpose and is no longer needed once the chick is out of the shell.