‘Shell’ shocked
Egg-ceptional hen lays egg inside an egg at organic Freetown farm
Sally and Mark Bernard of Barnyard Organics in North Freetown were surprised when they discovered an unusually large egg in their chicken coop Friday morning.
But what they found inside the egg shocked the couple even more.
“I could see right away this egg was visibly different. It looked like an emu egg compared to the rest of them, so then I picked it up and gave it a little shake and could hear in my ear a little clunk, clunk,” said Sally. “I realized there was another egg inside.”
When Sally cracked open the egg, which was about three times larger than usual, she found a perfectly-formed smaller egg inside.
After finding the oddity, which Sally took the time to document and photograph, she scanned the barn searching for a cranky hen but said they were all content.
“They were all happily clucking away, eating and looking fine. I went out again today to see if one was looking down, but they were all just the same as ever,” said Sally.
“I’ve heard of this before, but this is the first time I have ever seen it. I had hens growing up as a kid in New Brunswick and would gather their eggs from the cart.
“But this is rare, I think. It’s certainly not something you would ever expect to find.”
Even though finding an egg within an egg is a relatively rare occurrence it does have a name counter-peristalsis contraction. It happens when a second oocyte, which eventually becomes an egg yolk, is released into a hen’s oviduct before the first egg is laid.
This results in the first egg reversing its direction and being added into the newly-released oocyte, which then develops a shell around itself and the first egg.
Daughter Lucy Bernard admitted she was glad to know which egg came first.
“I help out with the chickens and gathering the eggs, but this was a strange find. The shell is much softer than a normal egg,” she said while gently weighing and examining each egg in her palms.
There are 160 to 180 laying hens on the organic farm, each one producing six eggs a week at their prime.
“Out of 180 it’s hard to tell who’s laying what because the hens are all walking around freely to and from their nest boxes,” explained Sally.
“But chickens are the most rewarding pets you can have because they can be as domesticated as a dog, responding similar to treats and they will do tricks. They will also provide eggs every day and can help create compost.”
The chickens, complete with their own distinct personalities, can be rented out on the fourthgeneration farm during the summer.
The process helps educate city dwellers on farm life or provides an opportunity for those that want to test the waters before investing in their own birds, coop, and feed chicken coop.