in the coop today we found an egg about the size of a goose egg. we have brown eggs this was white. it was layed in a nest not normally used by the chickens. it has to be the size of 3 maybe 4 eggs.. was this a chicken egg? i am stumped as too did one of my chickens lay it or what? i'm having one of the kids take it to school to ask around. so please any answers... let me know.....

-- satina leatherman (satinaleatherman@hotmail.com), February 24, 2002

Answers

Mama nature does some funny things sometimes. My Naked Necks normally lay eggs that are larger than the supermarket jumbo size, but once in a while things happen ~ like a well proportioned egg 4 inches long. (Ouch!).

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), February 25, 2002.

Suspect the bowlegged hen.

-- Laura (Ladybugwrangler@hotmail.com), February 25, 2002.

We had one of those just the other day. Our chickens lay brown eggs as well, and nice big ones. But occasionally we do find one of those huge ones that just makes you wince and say, "Oh, poor chicken!"

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), February 25, 2002.

We too had one of these the other day. My DD brought it in and I asked if she was SURE it wasn't a peacock egg! She assured me it came from one of the next boxes. So we had it for supper. Turns out it was our first double-yoker!

-- Lisa in WI (llehman16nospam@hotmail.com), February 25, 2002.

Yup, they can lay some pretty humongous eggs. I have a tiny leghorn - maybe 2.5 lb.- that is 4-5 yrs old. She lays double sized eggs (won't hardly fit in the jumbo egg carton) and I know that she'll lay herself to death (such is the life of a leghorn). I don't butcher her because she is so scrawny and is so lively. Anyway, this time of year you may HAVE a goose getting into your coop to lay her eggs... Is this a possibility? Goose eggs have a rougher textured shell. Duck eggs are slick and greenish/almost translucent. You could candle the egg and see how many yolks are in there too... That could give you an indication. If there is more than one yolk, look for a tired chicken....

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 25, 2002.

just a thought, do you have a practical joker in the family? I once bought a rock egg and put in the nest for my DH to find. Neer occured to me he wouldn't realize it wasn't a real egg!

-- VickiP. (countrymous@webtv.net), February 25, 2002.

One of my Auracauana's laid a HUGE blue-green egg a couple of weeks ago....it's about as big as three normal eggs. I still have it in the fridge. Sometimes my Golden Comets will lay an exceptionally large brown egg too. Sometimes they're double yolked but more often than not, they're not.

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), February 25, 2002.

We had a Rhode Island Red produce an extra large egg. It was an egg inside an egg. Shell and all!

-- Rickstir (rpowell@email.ccis.edu), February 25, 2002.

I pulled a trick on my mom years ago! I put a emu egg in her nest box as a joke!! She told everyone and showedum that big egg !! LOL!!

-- Grizz in Western Maryland (southerneagle@yahoo.com), February 27, 2002.

I find an oversized egg from time to time myself. I always say poor hen! Is your chicken house open to outside critters? If so it could possibly be a wild turkey egg. But you never know! Strange things do happen. My Uncle once showed us a large round stone he found on a path he walked everyday. It was in the field with his horses. He couldn't imagine what it could be, but a rock. The vet told him it was a kidney stone from one of the horses had passed. It was as big as a chicken egg. I bet he said whoooo. Please visit my web site at http://communities.msn.com/LolosEnjoyableCountryLiving Lolo

-- Lolo (hubahuba25@hotmail.com), February 27, 2002.

I had a humongous egg a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea which hen laid it, as I have several varieties. It was 4 1/2 inches long and 8 1/4 inches in circumference. When I opened it, it had two whole eggs inside (not just a double yolk). I've been raising chickens for nearly 20 years and have never seen that before.

-- Gayle Smith (gayleannesmith@yahoo.com), March 02, 2002.