A hen will certainly not fall fowl of its owner after it laid what is believed to be Ireland’s largest egg - more than double the size of a regular one.
Craig Evans, 16, got the eggcellent surprise when he went out to check on his chickens last Tuesday and said he was left speechless at the discovery.
The teenager regularly flogs his produce through honesty boxes outside his home in Wicklow and near the family farm ever since he purchased a number of hens in February 2022 but demand has been so good he now owns 31.
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Speaking to The Irish Mirror, Craig said: “I went out and I was just picking the eggs as normal and I pulled that one out.
“I knew straight away it was the biggest one I had ever seen. I don’t even think I’ve even seen a picture of an egg that big.”
Craig added: “There is a good weight to it and it doesn’t feel any different to the smaller eggs in terms of density. It’s not deformed in any way. The egg is literally just bigger and heavier.”
The teen’s massive egg which was laid by a Rhode Island Red weighs in at an enormous 117g and stands 9cm tall with a circumference of 16cm - while ones purchased in the supermarket usually weigh between 50g and 60g.
The World Record for the largest hen egg ever laid was 454g. It was laid by a White Leghorn in New Jersey in USA, on February 25, 1956.
The small-time egg producer who puts it down to a “freak event” added: “I have friends who also have chickens who have never had anything even remotely close to this size.”
When asked what his plans were for the egg, Craig revealed: “I don’t know what to do with it, to be honest. I’m holding onto it for the moment.”
The youngster said he has no clue which one of his hens laid the huge egg. He said: “I have them all housed in an old sheep trailer out in a field by my house.
“They’re all fed the same, they get the same water and there is nothing different between them.”
Craig said he has big plans for the future. He declared: “As long as I keep selling my eggs and as long as I keep expanding the honesty boxes, I’ll buy more chickens and hopefully have a proper retail producing line for eggs when I’m older.
"I’ll see how it goes and I’ll see how the demand is.”
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