Monday, February 26, 2018

What is a Fart Egg?

Several people asked about the "fart egg" that I pictured on 
Instagram and Facebook yesterday. 

I'll try to explain. 

Here is the picture, as posted: 


I found this egg just outside the open pophole of the coop, yesterday, as I was 
closing up. 

I remembered that yesterday morning, I had heard a LOUD cackle while I 
was clear over on the porch, from a hen who sounded very surprised.  Many hens 
cackle, though, as they lay. 

When I saw this egg, I thought to myself "WOW, was that her first?" 

In December I brought home four cochin hens from the National 
Agricultural Center .  All were just coming into lay, or so I thought, 
so... I suspect one or two has not yet. 

"Fart" or "fairy eggs" are described as thus: 

Image result for what is a fart egg?
Sometimes called dwarf, wind or—my personal favorite—fart eggs, an egg without a yolk is usually a young pullet's first attempt at laying. These oddities are characterized by their small size, round shape and resemblance to grapes or marbles.Jan 18, 2016

That's from Hobby Farms Magazine. 

Here is the egg this morning, on my kitchen table. 


A fairy, or fart egg, is usually defined by the fact that there is only white matter, 
but no yolk. 

How then, do we explain this?  I could tell the egg was heavier than normal. 

If you look at the picture above, you will see the two fairy eggs are much smaller than a regular egg, 
but I did not think to put mine next to a regular size egg. 


I was stunned to find a fully-developed yolk AND a fertilized chick
embryo in this egg when I broke it open five minutes ago. 

What the heck? 

I have never had a fully developed yolk in one that I remember. 

My guess is that one or all of the young cochins is only just coming into lay. 

I hope this answers all your questions about 
fart or fairy eggs. 







5 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    Forgive if I have missed this, but do you have any bantams? That would be my guess on it... but I'm not there!!! A lovely find, whichever. YAM xx

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  2. Learn something new every day. :)

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  3. Very interesting Mary Ann. Thanks for explaining about the eggs.

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  4. How cute ! I'd never heard that expression before. Looks like you may have a lot of eggs in the future. Spring is just full of new beginnings !

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