I Bet that Chicken was Screaming--- Or Alien

[jeff of pa]

So we came home Wednesday evening and Erik showed me the gigantic egg he found in one of the chicken nesting boxes! The kids have been so excited to see what's inside of it....so I thought it would be fun to turn on the camera and include all of you! We can find out together! Sometimes, new egg layers lay some odd eggs.

 

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[Red-Coat]

Fascinating! This, edited from the ‘Backyard Poultry’ website:

Though quite rare, it is well-known that occasionally a hen will lay an egg inside of an egg. The cause of this phenomenon is called a counter-peristalsis contraction and occurs while the hen is in the process of forming an egg in her oviduct.

A hen typically releases an oocyte (the ovum that becomes the yolk of an egg) from her left ovary into the oviduct every 18-26 hours. The oocyte travels slowly through the oviduct organ adding layers of the egg along the path to the chicken’s vent from which it will lay the egg.

A counter-peristalsis contraction is when a second oocyte is released by the ovary before the first egg has completely traveled through the oviduct and been laid. The release of a second oocyte into the oviduct system while a first oocyte is in the eggshell-gland portion of the oviduct causes a contraction. This counter-peristalsis contraction, resulting from the premature release of a second oocyte into the oviduct, causes the first egg in the eggshell gland to reverse its course and be pushed back up to the top of the oviduct. Consequently, the first egg is typically added to the oocyte that was just released into the oviduct. The second oocyte then travels down the oviduct and has albumen and a shell deposited over it and first egg together. This creates a very large egg for your poor hen to lay. When you crack open such an egg, there is normal yolk and whites as well as another fully formed, normal-sized egg inside.

How a Chicken Lays an Egg Inside of an Egg - Backyard Poultry

Occasionally, a hen will lay an egg inside of an egg, a phenomenon called counter-peristalsis contraction, and it occurs while the hen is forming an egg in her oviduct.

backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com