One of my hens laid this huge egg today. It is so large that it will not fit into an egg box. :D
Crikey Pauline I think that poor hen said something a bit stronger than OUCH :) What a great egg hope you enjoy.
Lorna
youch alright! Our speckledy often lays double yolkers - biggest was 99g!
But 105 - ouch!
Hi Auntie Pauline, I found the info on large eggs in the book I was talking about:
"Extra-large eggs vary in size and are produced as odd eggs mainly from young birds coming into lay, or by older birds whose uterus has expanded more than is normal. In the case of young birds, it can be caused by peristlsis, which forces the yolk back up the oviduct and, on reverting, the yolk will collect a further supply of albumen requiring an extra large shell.
Less common is for the egg to be formed before being put into reverse thrust. When this happens it collects further supplies of albumen and another shell. When the owner opens the shell another fully formed egg will be found inside, the only difference being that the initial egg will contain a yolk while the outer shell contains only albumen. The writer has experienced eggs up to 170g (6oz)in size........."!
Well that makes your egg look small in comparism, but interesting to hear about this "reverse thrust" business.................definately sounds painfull
Very interesting Prink13 and thanks for posting the information. The egg was a double yolker but only had one shell. It was probably laid by one of my 6 Welsummers who are just over one year old but could have been laid by their adopted mother who is about 4.
Welsummers are quite small compared to some of the larger breeds so I don't think I am likely to get one weighing in at 170g. Strangely enough, two or three days before I found the large egg, I found a really tiny egg in the box. I would describe it to being the same size as a pigeons egg. It was a different colour though so don't think it was laid by the same bird. :D
Yep all my large eggs are double yolkers! And i'm grateful for them! ;D