Every now and then, one of the hens will lay a large egg. Sometimes the large eggs have two yolks in them, and they're called "double-yolkers". Yesterday, I found the mother of all eggs in the nest box. This is an egg of GIANT proportions! The shell was quite frail, and I was amazed that it wasn't completely broken, with the size of the cracked area on the end. But, Curly Que was sitting on it, keeping it nice and safe for me. (It's not Curly Que's egg, though... she was just "egg sitting" for the hen that laid it.)
I immediately took the egg to the house. I got out my trusty digital scale and carefully weighed the egg. 137 grams! I couldn't believe it!
Here is the GIANT egg on a plate next to a NORMAL sized egg. Holay MOLAY!
Here is a "normal" sized egg in my hand...
Here is the GIANT egg in my hand.
I wanted to see just how many yolks were in the GIANT egg. I cracked it open on the plate, and was AMAZED to find another egg of normal size, shell and all, inside, along with a big beautiful yolk!
I then decided to crack open the egg within the egg to see what I could see... Lots of egg white, but not so much yolk.
Hopefully, the hen that laid this egg takes a few days off to recoup. Maybe a little Preparation H is in order... *grin*
I just had the same thing happen... so I Googled "Giant Egg" and found your blog. (If anything, my egg appears to be even larger! I don't have a scale). Everybody in the hen house appears normal.
Posted by: Mark InArk | March 15, 2010 at 11:04 AM
Can you imagine how the chicken felt??? Poor thing, deserves a "rita" after that!
Hugs
Julie
Posted by: Julie Phillips | February 27, 2010 at 07:39 AM
Hey Bob, It's called callousing, as in doing an honest days labour. You should try it some time...
Posted by: shane | December 04, 2009 at 02:29 PM
what kind of drugs do you deal? most people wouldn't just have that kind of scale handy
Posted by: Bob | December 04, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Ha-ha, don't you mean, "re-coop?" Poor bird...
Posted by: Infideluxe | December 01, 2009 at 06:42 PM
Yo dawg, I heard you like eggs, so we put an egg in yo egg, so you can eat, while you eat.
Posted by: Xzibit | December 01, 2009 at 05:41 PM
Oh my goodness Anna, Just reading this. That is incredible! Thanks for sharing the pics - nobody would have believed you otherwise.
Have a great Monday, Liz
Posted by: Liz | November 16, 2009 at 08:59 AM
Ouch! Poor chicken!
Posted by: Bagpuss | November 09, 2009 at 08:35 AM
What more can be said?
Posted by: Laurie in MN | November 02, 2009 at 09:07 PM
Fascinating about that egg within the largerr egg. Your photography is, of course, amazing!
Posted by: Charlene Merrick | November 01, 2009 at 06:38 PM
Poor thing! She's probably off licking her wounds somewhere. Well, she probably would if she could!
Posted by: Leslie Miller | October 31, 2009 at 01:19 AM
Give that little lady some extra feed and
a soft cushion nest for a few weeks. She deserves pampering at its best. I couldn't
believe my eyes. Unbelieveable.
Posted by: Norma Thompson | October 30, 2009 at 01:49 AM
I started following your blog for your great card ideas, and I still do, but the chicken stories, and the animal stories are even more interesting. I'll never forget the chicken who got his own coat. God has blessed you with the most interesting life. Thanks for sharing.
Bernice
Posted by: Bernice Fiedlds | October 29, 2009 at 08:31 PM
Oh Goodness that was some egg! Totally amazing to find another egg inside the egg (a little weird too)!
Posted by: Ida | October 29, 2009 at 09:16 AM
We get super large double yokers to, but I've never seen an egg inside an egg before!!!! Thats crazy!! Only on your farm Anna.....
Posted by: leslie | October 29, 2009 at 09:09 AM
Incredible! Thanks for sharing, Anna!!
Posted by: Rose Ann | October 28, 2009 at 07:23 PM
I tell ya Anna I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. We had a friend that had chickens and we would get eggs from him and sometimes there were some huge ones, lots of double yolkers and once even a TRIPLE yolker, but never an egg within an egg! Love reading your stories and also looking at your work.
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa | October 28, 2009 at 07:10 PM
Oh my goodness! Have you ever had another egg shell inside? I've never heard of such a thing! Poor hen. Did you find one of your hens lying on her side looking whipped this morning? :)
Posted by: Shellie Daniel | October 28, 2009 at 05:47 PM
Ow that poor hen!!!! THinking of your ladies today!
Posted by: Diane Cooper | October 28, 2009 at 05:15 PM
My Alan says "that poor chicken". He also says for you to isolate that poor chicken and to giver booty a rest. Men!
Posted by: Gabriela | October 28, 2009 at 05:01 PM
Kinda like a woman birthing a watermelon. OMG! That egg looked just like a potato in your hand. Poor little hen!
Posted by: Gwen | October 28, 2009 at 04:35 PM
OH MY GOODNESS, ANNA!!! That is INCREDIBLE! I have never heard of that happening~~not that I'm a chicken expert or anything; but WOW! What an event!
It's so fun to see what's happening on your farm...how great! But I agree with the OUCH, that HAD to hurt! Prep H for SURE! :p
Posted by: diane mcvey | October 28, 2009 at 02:12 PM
OOOOOOOO-AAAAAAHHHHHHHH, Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a lake on an Island with an Island in it.
That's cool, but in Texas you have a chicken that may be related to the OOOAAAhh bird that lays SQUARE eggs! And yours are bigger too. My cup runeth over! Love, Dad
Posted by: DK Wight | October 28, 2009 at 11:36 AM
WOW! That is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing.
Posted by: Ruthy Gray | October 28, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Oh damn!!! Have you checked hen booty? Someone in the is having a bad day! Can you say "chicken C Section"?
Posted by: Carla | October 28, 2009 at 10:46 AM
YIKES! I bet that was uncomfortable to get out!
Posted by: dcorder | October 28, 2009 at 09:04 AM
Oh ouch! Bless that hen! Very cool though...
Posted by: Danielle | October 28, 2009 at 06:22 AM
Oh my, you need to notify Ripley's Believe It Or Not (are they still around?)!! Or maybe the Guiness (sp?)Book of Records! Yikes, that egg is huge and oh, that poor hen.
Posted by: Cindy H. | October 28, 2009 at 05:59 AM
Anna, I find this completely fascinating to say the least! I can't belive there was another complete egg on the inside...NEATO! I feel sorry for the hen though...in need of a vacation for sure!
Posted by: Dawn Chau | October 28, 2009 at 05:51 AM
Totally wild! I think that chicken not only needs Prep-H but perhaps an inflatable donut ring to sit on!! I figured I'd comment so you know that I am enamoured of your barnyard tales so keep em coming. If someone had told me when I started stamp blurfing in earnest last August that one of my favourite blogs would often feature chickens with personalities who like being petted, I would have had them commited! Not only would I have expected chicken stories to be boring and irrelevant(sp?), but who knew chickens like being cuddled and have personalities. Thanks for the fun reading!!
Posted by: Rebecca Ednie | October 28, 2009 at 05:23 AM
Wow! That's huge! And crazy that there was another full egg inside!! I don't know much about eggs, but I'm thinking that's not normal?! Hope the hen has recovered from this!
~Lacey
Posted by: Lacey | October 28, 2009 at 05:05 AM
Takes the phrase "lay one on me" to a new level. : )
Thanks for sharing these wonderful show and tells. Hugs.
Posted by: Mel | October 28, 2009 at 04:02 AM
O_U_C_H!!!!!!
That poor hen....have you checked them all...she might be hemorrhaging somewhere? Poor baby.
Posted by: Sue | October 28, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Oh my word! That's amazing!! Poor hen, lol - wonder if that's like a woman pushing out a 10 lb baby? Ouch. Very interesting though - thank you for sharing!
Posted by: Alexis Hilgert | October 27, 2009 at 11:26 PM
That is the most amazing and weird thing!! I feel sorry for the poor hen that laid it! Ohmygoodness..is she recovered yet?? Jeanne in COLD north Idaho...xoxo
Posted by: Jeanne H | October 27, 2009 at 09:21 PM
An egg in an egg? Amazing! Thanks for the photos.
Posted by: Anthonette | October 27, 2009 at 09:10 PM
Whoa! That's incredible, never heard or seen anything like that! TFS
Posted by: Tammi | October 27, 2009 at 08:08 PM
LOL! What are you feeding them?? That's incredible! I had a horse once that passed a stone that large!
Posted by: Linda C. | October 27, 2009 at 08:04 PM
Wow! Thanks for sharing this with us. I wouldn't have believed it was possible if I hadn't seen your photos with my very own eyes.
Posted by: Donna Wilson | October 27, 2009 at 06:16 PM
Well isn't that somethin'?!!! TFS!
Posted by: Amy Sheffer | October 27, 2009 at 05:31 PM
Wow Anna, that is the most amazing thing I've seen in a good long time. Thanks for sharing the photos. All I can say is WOW!
Posted by: Debby W. | October 27, 2009 at 04:31 PM
OH my! that is totally something! How interesting! Have you ever heard of that happening before? kinda like that lady who is preg with 2 babys! conceived at different times! wow.....facinating! thanks for sharing....prep H..hahha...i wouldnt want to be the one putting it on the hen...NO THANKS!
Posted by: Renee Guggenmos | October 27, 2009 at 02:53 PM
Oh my gosh. I'm clenching my legs together as I type. Thanks for cracking it open, I was dying to know what was inside. LOL!
Have you researched this? Has this happened before? What would make this happen? I am very intrigued!
Posted by: Lisa | October 27, 2009 at 02:48 PM
Do you know whose egg it was? And did you eat it? I don't think I could but I hate to see food go to waste. Wow.
Posted by: Judy in Indiana | October 27, 2009 at 02:46 PM
Wow.. my kids think that is awesome! they were asking me to scroll back and forth for them to see.. thanks for posting the pics. that is one big ole' egg!
~ Pam
Posted by: Pam T. | October 27, 2009 at 02:43 PM
WOW that is AMAZING, poor hen! Thanks for sharing the cool stuff. I have never seen anything like that. A double yolker, yes, but never and egg-n-egg! WOW hugs...
Posted by: Carol Dee | October 27, 2009 at 02:22 PM
That's amazing Anna! Thanks for sharing it. I'll have to show my oldest, Kevin. He'll really enjoy learning about it. :)
Posted by: Michelle P. Fischer | October 27, 2009 at 01:36 PM
Oh my achin' bum, just looking at it hurts! It may not be Curly Que's egg, but it sure would curl my feathers! I've never seen anything like this before, thanks for the education.
Posted by: Dotty | October 27, 2009 at 01:31 PM
WOW!
Didn't even know that was possible!!
Posted by: Juliana | October 27, 2009 at 01:30 PM
That is amazing.Do they build up to that, or did she lay an egg recently as well? Pretty compact way to deliver eggs I suppose,lol
p.s. still waiting on eggs from my gals..
Posted by: Sally | October 27, 2009 at 01:01 PM
Amazing! I have heard of this happening, but never seen it, congratulations!
Posted by: Nettie | October 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM
This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen, I think. I wonder how that happens?
Posted by: Ann | October 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Oh, that poor hen! Maybe she needs an inflatable donut to sit on today! LOL
Posted by: Novell | October 27, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Oh my goodness. That's amazing.
Posted by: Lori | October 27, 2009 at 11:13 AM
OMG!!! Your commentary just cracks me up. That must be the equivalent of about a 10 lb. baby! Preparation H and some ice packs ought to do the trick!
Posted by: Kim Howard | October 27, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Oh MY! Makes MY buns hurt just thinking about it! LOL! Yikes!
Posted by: Julie Campbell | October 27, 2009 at 11:11 AM
That's the first time I've ever seen an egg WITHIN an egg! Thanks for documenting it with photos and sharing it with us!
Posted by: michelle | October 27, 2009 at 11:08 AM
OUCH!!! Pretty much says it all! :-)
Take care,
Manetta
Posted by: Manetta Deggelman | October 27, 2009 at 11:03 AM