Students work on an investigative project designed around a brief paper obtained from the scientific literature. The project employs readily available materials and entails the screening of eggs purchased from supermarkets, local suppliers and farms for the presence of anti-Salmonella enteritidis and anti-Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide antibodies. The presence of anti-bacterial antibodies in eggs can be used as an indirect measure of infection in chicken flocks. Technical precision is required in performing a quantitative ELISA assay, and serial dilutions and the concept of the scientific method are reinforced. As an option, IgY, the major immunoglobulin of chicken, may be purified easily for characterization by standard immunological techniques.