tiny egg

[Painted Lady]

One of my hens laid the tiniest egg today and very dark brown. What causes that? It was about the size of a quail egg.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

How old are your birds? Do you have any breeds that are expected to produce dark colored eggs which are of the age to be expected to be coming into production?
Tiny eggs from established layers are referred to as fairy eggs, wind eggs or even fart eggs -- they often are white only, but sometimes have tiny yolks inside as well. Pullet eggs, those first eggs produced by a newly laying bird, are often small in size, but not usually as small as the fairy/wind/fart eggs.......the possibility of pullet egg is why I asked about your birds' ages/breeds as the size and color both seem to be out of the ordinary from your wording.

 

[MyChickenCookie]

That egg is what I call a "fart" egg. It is a yolkless egg that is pretty rare except for a pullet's first one or two eggs. It can also occur in older hens who aren't laying as well. Although they don't have a yolk, they are great for recipes that call for only egg whites.