An egg within an egg!!!

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  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    EGGCEPTION
  • MonicaLee92
    MonicaLee92 Posts: 222
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    Wow! That's pretty cool!
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
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    Fascinating! I've never heard of that before.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    This reminds me of one of those "WTF" posts I saw on FB the other day, it was a snapshot of some girl who had asked a question on Ask! Yahoo.

    "If I have sex while pregnant and I am pregnant with a baby girl can the baby girl get pregnant while I'm pregnant?"

    "Yes and if you're not careful the baby's baby can also get pregnant so it will continue on like a neverending cycle"

    And these are the people who are allowed to reproduce. God has a sick sense of humor.

    Very odd on the egg sounds almost like it crossed over into the other egg while it was still very immature and developing.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    Neat! ...and totally freaky! I wouldn't have eaten that egg.
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    Yesterday one of my hens laid a big, long egg I assumed to be a double yolker. I saved it for breakfast this morning, and when I cracked it into the pan, this is what I saw:
    IMG_0804.jpg
    Whoa! I've never seen anything like that, so naturally I snapped a picture and put it on Facebook.
    IMG_0805.jpg
    It was firmer than an egg yolk. My friends had a slew of suggestions for what it might be, so I decided to cut it open:
    IMG_0806.jpg
    It was a tiny egg within a bigger one!
    IMG_0809.jpg
    The shell hadn't completely formed yet, so that's why it was still white rather than the typical brown eggs I collect. I'm not sure why this happened, and a cursory Google search didn't produce any definitive answers, so I guess it's just another one of those chicken oddities you have to expect from time to time!

    I have 5 laying hens, and I actually know how the egg within an egg happened. From what I read, it happens when for some reason the egg reverses direction . The inner egg in your picture had no shell, just membrane around it.

    My hens have been laying since July, and since August I have gotten 4 or 5 eggs a day. I have gotten 2 odd eggs--one with no shell was found in the run early one morning ( must have been laid the evening before, and I didn't see it in the dark), and just the other day I got one with a thin spot ( and a dent!) in one end. I also found ONE double yolk egg. The double yolk I actually weighed, and it was almost an ounce heavier than the average egg laid by my hens.
  • fldiver97
    fldiver97 Posts: 341 Member
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    I have 9 hens too! The girls are 23 weeks tomorrow and I have only gotten 4 damn eggs! They're on layer pellets (and dinner scraps) Anyone have a clue why they aren't laying?
    several reasons/possibiities: a) depending on breed pullets start laying between 18 and 30+ weeks....on average Leghorns and red stars etc usually start younger, heavier breeds/heritage breeds are often a few weeks lder. I had an easter egger that did not start laying until she was 30= weeks old b) they have to get the whole laying thing 'regulated', they may lay odd eggs/slow in the beginning c) daylight hours. Chickens slow down laying (some breeds may even stop laying for a while) during winter. Not as much temperature related but exposure to light/daylight. Industrial chicken farms will keep lights on for laying hens year round for a minimum of 14 hours. d) nutrition/water: make sure your chickens have either a layer mix for feed and/or always have calcium available, I always have some crushed oyster shells available, the girls will 'supplement' on their own when they need more calcium. Make sure they ALWAYS have clean water available, even in the harshest winter as eating snow does not provide enough water intake. And last - moulting. If your chooks are young it is not an issue yet but sdult chickens will loose and replace their feathers once a year in fall/early winter. They will not lay or lay only a little as their bodies need so much protein to grow new feathers. Now all that said.......if you have a small flock for your own egg supply you may just let the girls do their thing. I personally will not 'force' the hens to lay or manipulate the moulting as I have hens of various ages and they are also backyard pets/bug patrol/fertilizer manufacturer as well as walking lawn ornaments. I don't eat chicken either. I do use (don't laugh - I use a string of outdoor type LED christmas light) keep artificial light in the coop during the winter but the light only on during the day from mid December through mid January and is at a fairly low level. I will keep the light on during those 4-5 weeks to extend natural daylight for approx 1 hour so I can do my chicken chores in the coop after work and still sort of see :laugh: So far I have always had at least a couple of eggs a week even in the winter but all my chooks are also heritage breeds that are very cold hardy and I also have a few of 1 year old hens and some 3.5 year old hens. So even if the older hens slow down a but, it all works out for me
  • michellesz
    michellesz Posts: 428 Member
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    I have about 50 hens. They're on layer pellets and scratch and I they are spoiled with stale breads, leftovers, all vegetables except tomatoes and all fruits except acidic fruits and no onions. They even get their broken eggs and egg shells to harden their shells and love oyster shells. We have lighting above their roosts and we get about 32 eggs a day more or less depending upon how much they are fed. They also have a trough and love lots and lots of fresh water. Also, if they have cubbies with hay to lay their eggs in, they may do better with their laying for those who have asked.

    Have had lots of doubles and odd shapes and variations of color, but never what you mentioned :)
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    That is just weird!
  • Slove009
    Slove009 Posts: 364 Member
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    Did you eat it? I love tiny eggs!
  • perfecting_emptiness
    perfecting_emptiness Posts: 49 Member
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    twin chickens!

    That's what I was going to say!!
  • rf1170
    rf1170 Posts: 180 Member
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    Love hearing everyone's advice and experiences! Thank you for the explanation on why this double egg phenomenon happened. And for the curious, I don't have a rooster, so none of my eggs are fertile. Well, none of my hens' eggs, anyway!

    It was a day of discovery out at the coop this morning - besides this egg, I also spotted an oyster mushroom growing on my coop! I posted some pictures of it at this thread:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/766363-who-wants-oyster-mushrooms
    283457_725580224804_1079087479_n.jpg

    I think the mycelium (which is the main fungus organism) is growing on the straw bedding inside my coop, and the mushroom (the reproductive part of the fungus) grew through a crack at the bottom of the coop so it could fruit outside in the colder temperatures, which it seems to prefer. I'll post pictures of it when I eat it later today!
  • jenluvsushi
    jenluvsushi Posts: 933 Member
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    Imagine what would have happened if it were fertilized? Siamese chickens!
  • gabriellejayde
    gabriellejayde Posts: 607 Member
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    WOAH! very cool. We have chickens (5) and sometimes get something slightly odd, but not like that!
  • Birdie
    Birdie Posts: 256 Member
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    I wonder if that is like human chimera. Where one egg seperates as if it's going to be twins but one doesn't form and is just absorbed into the other twins body. It makes it possible for one person to have two sets of DNA if tested from different locations in the body.
  • rf1170
    rf1170 Posts: 180 Member
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    I wonder if that is like human chimera. Where one egg seperates as if it's going to be twins but one doesn't form and is just absorbed into the other twins body. It makes it possible for one person to have two sets of DNA if tested from different locations in the body.

    Who knows - though I think, if the egg were fertilized, the embryo might not be able to grow inside the shell, since the small one would restrict it. So it might not be able to grow to maturity and hatch.

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