Eggceptional B.C. hen named Bell is laying eggs inside other eggs

A chicken is producing rare eggs within eggson a hobby farm nearDawson Creek in northeastern B.C.

Though not unheard of, the phenomenon is rare enough that mostpeople go their entire lives without cracking open an egg only to find another oneinside.

But now Wendy Devuysthas experienced it twice, thanks to an "eggceptional" hen named Bell.

The first occurrence was in January when she collected a "way larger than normal" eggfrom one of her approximately 75 chickens. It was"about two-and-a-half times the size of a regular-sized egg."

"I was thinking it was going to be a triple-yolker," she told CBCDaybreak Northhost Carolina de Ryk.

Instead, she cracked it open and, "Lo and behold, another fully-formed egg came out."

"It actually made me jump back, I was so in shock," she said. "I was like, 'How did that happen?'"

Watch the oversized egg being cracked:

B.C. hen lays egg-within-an-egg

7 years ago

Duration 1:28

A Dawson Creek chicken has been surprising its owners by laying oversized eggs that have another, regular egg inside.

The answer is a process known as counter-peristalsis contraction.

It occurs when aformed egg begins traveling backwards in a hen's oviduct and becomes embedded inside a second egg in the process of developing.

The second egg forms around the first, hence the large size.

Devuyst was more prepared on March 8 when she collected another oversized egg from Bell.

This time she filmed the process of cracking it open to discover another smaller egg inside, with her three children as witnesses.

"They thought it was pretty cool," she said.

Grgoy Bdcarrats, a professor atthe University of Guelph's Department of Animal Biosciences, said it's difficult to track the frequency ofcounter-peristalsis contraction as eggs within eggs are eliminated during inspections at egg grading stations, but are not usually recorded.

He also said the phenomenon is likely caused by the hen'sgenetics affecting its egg-formation cycle, which would explain why Bell has produced more than one egg within an egg.

He also noted that while normal, it is relatively rare.

Devuystsaid Bell seems to be acting normally and wasn't getting any special treatment, though she is now getting "extra treats" after laying two sets of double eggs.

"She is a real sweetheart," she said.

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