Every now and then a chicken will lay a super tiny egg. First time layers typically lay small eggs until their egg laying mechanisms are fully ready for the laying process. However, mature hens will sometimes lay tiny eggs commonly called: wind eggs, dwarf eggs, fart eggs, or even cock eggs. It was once believed that these tiny eggs came from roosters and if the egg were to hatch then it would produce a Basilisk. These eggs are infertile. Sometimes they contain yolks but most often they do not. There is nothing to be alarmed about if you find one of these tiny eggs in your nest box someday. The mini egg is simply a tiny piece of reproductive tissue that has broken away from the ovary before entering the oviduct. The hen's body is then stimulated to treat that tiny bit of tissue like that of normal reproductive tissue and wrap it in albumen, membranes, and shell. The tiny egg then continues down the egg tube (oviduct) just like a regular egg. It is fun to ponder the thoughts the hen must have had when she laid that tiny egg. Perhaps she just wanted to celebrate Easter early and deliver her own jelly beans or maybe she has seen, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, one too many times.
Clockwise from left: standard Polish egg, Old English Game bantam egg, Fart egg, dime
So cute and tiny!
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