One Texas farmer was in for a great surprise when he went to collect the morning eggs from his chickens.
He has many chickens but one chicken in particular has been laying some unusual eggs. The eggs are almost triple in size of normal eggs. His chicken is giving credit to the idea that homegrown food, including eggs, are better than store bought food. These eggs are not only large, they have a unique surprise when he cracks the eggs open.
The very large egg has another normal sized egg within it.
The Texas farmer explains that the chicken is a seven month old chicken of normal size. The chicken had been laying these large double eggs for about a week or so prior to recording the video. It is important to note that these large eggs had not been hurting the chicken physically. It seems to just be another day on the laying eggs job for the special chicken.
“What’s inside? A double egger. Ya, who’s got the best chickens? No double yolks, that is for wimps. We have double eggers,” the Texas farmer jokes.
How can a chicken lay an egg within an egg?
The official term for “double eggs” is counter-peristalsis contraction. This sounds super technical but the science behind it is pretty easy. The chicken releases a oocyte (which will become the yolk in the egg) and it starts the process to form into an egg. For a double egg to be created a second oocyte is released before the first one has been fully formed and laid. Backyard Poultry states that this is very rare but does occur.
This Texas farmer has over a dozen chickens but only one has the rare ability to lay the double egg.
When the farmer and his wife crack both eggs into a bowl, you cannot even tell the difference between the two. The yolks are about the same size once the eggs have been opened. This was not the case for a woman in Britain. Linda Alvarado retrieved a normal sized egg from one of her hens. When she cracked it open she found a tiny egg had been formed inside. The tiny egg was soft shelled and not fully formed.
If you find a tiny egg within a normal sized egg it is still counter-peristalsis contraction but has a different formation.
“However, in this case, the oocyte that was released in the first egg … was tiny because the ovary had released an oocyte out of order. Usually, hens ovulate daily in order of size – laying the largest, most developed oocyte first. The hen’s ovary is simultaneously preparing smaller oocytes for release at a later time. Occasionally, a small, underdeveloped oocyte jumps the queue,” Backyard Poultry explains.
Linda was not as lucky as the Texas farmer. She could not cook from both eggs.
It is a sight to see the double egg. Over 12 million viewers have watched the video and they cannot get enough. Some commented,
“I thought double egg yolks was impressive but this way more impressive.”
“Now that’s what you call eggception.”
“That’s peculiar, but it’s so egg-citing to see.”
Watch the full video right below!
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