Wow .. this egg is tiny!

[Teila]

On the left is you average sized corn kernel, on the right is a bantam egg which is from the smallest egg layer in my flock.

My 19 month old Pekin Cochin, Cilla, was in the nest box, doing the whole "I am going to lay an egg thing" when everyone got let out for a supervised free range. I could see that she wanted out also but she stayed put. A bit later she came running out of the coop and joined her play mates. I go to collect the egg she would have laid ... hhhmm, no egg! 30 minutes or so later I am taking some happy snaps of the gals on the lawn when I see this tiny little offering next to a chicken poop.

I have two options here:

1. Cilla was wanting to go play and she laid it 'in a bit of a hurry'? Except that her eggs and normally only slightly darker than the bantam egg pictured and this tiny offering is a nice rich tan colour?

Or

2. LuLu, Pekin Frizzle, laid her first egg?

Guess I will never know but had to share because it is sooo tiny

 

[lightchick]

Kind of looks like a pigeon egg except it's brown. Does it have a yolk?

 

[Teila]

I haven't cracked it open yet lightchick .. might have to do that.

I would not have believed that one of my gals laid it except that I was sitting on the lawn and they were all hanging around me. It was not there when I sat down but was right next to me a few minutes later.

 

[Teila]

So, I cracked it open. The shell was actually quite hard to crack and yes, it had a yolk, looked like a normal egg except very tiny

 

[lightchick]

Cool! I'm surprised that it had a yolk.

 

[beausonge]

Usually they don't have a yolk. My chickens on occasion lay "fart" eggs. They are tiny and have no yolks. I save them for a friend of mine. She lets them dry out in the frig and then uses them for decorations in her crafts. The blue/green egg layers are especially pretty because when they are tiny, their color is very concentrated.

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

Fart eggs are so darn cute. I was so excited when I got one from my girls lol I still have it, it's about a year old now. Doesn't stink so I'm going to continue to keep it, it just cracks me up every time I look at it

 

[RoosterLew]

Aldo known as wind eggs....lol

 

[lightchick]

Aldo known as wind eggs....lol

I like the name wind eggs better! lol

 

[Teila]

You guys n' gals are funny!

Thanks for your replies

The darker colour was throwing me off as no-one here lays eggs that colour but then I noted that beausonge mentioned the colour is more concentrated.

I believe the fart/wind egg culprit was, in fact, my 19 month old who was in too much of a hurry to go out and play as she was doing the 'going to lay an egg' routine and then did not lay an egg!

A bit more research indicates that other causes can be worms, insufficient feed etc etc but this little feathered beach ball is well fed, wormed and apparently perfectly healthy. I will keep an eye on her but for now, chalk that one up to an embarrasing public display on her part to which I probably should have replied 'excuse you"