New/Late Layer OR Something Else?

[sunsetfarms170]

Went to collect eggs today and found one small speckled egg. Is this a chicken egg.. Maybe a late layer. All our flock are 26+ weeks old and I was sure all were laying as we only have 9 hens and some days we get 9 eggs. Maybe I don't remember how small the first eggs really are....or did a bird sneak in the coop

 

[Mamatomany123]

May be a fairy egg.

 

[aart]

Went to collect eggs today and found one small speckled egg. Is this a chicken egg.. Maybe a late layer. All our flock are 26+ weeks old and I was sure all were laying as we only have 9 hens and some days we get 9 eggs. Maybe I don't remember how small the first eggs really are....or did a bird sneak in the coop

Open it up and see what's inside.
Agrees it's probably a fairy egg.
More common with older layers but not unheard of with new ones.

Fairy, fart, wind, rooster eggs are usually from a tiny piece of tissue breaking loose from the reproductive tract, or an immature ova(yolk) and the body forms an egg around it. Color can be darker than 'normal' as the pigment coating released has to cover a much smaller area so is thicker. Can happen with any age layer, but more common with older layers.

I think it's explained in this excellent video, which is worth watching regardless: