A West Virginia man is laying claim to one of the world's smallest chicken eggs. Whether it's a record remains to be seen.
The Reverand Donnie Russell said he found the egg last month on his farm.
It's 2.1 centimetres long, or a bit bigger than a penny, and weighs 3.46 grams - a little more than one-tenth of an ounce.
'It's really something. If you want to know the truth, I can't put it into words,' Mr Russell said.
Mr Russell, of Raleigh County, said his wife is an animal lover and she's collected cats, geese, ducks, chickens and other types of birds over the years.
Normally, the chicken eggs are donated to people from the Rock Creek Community Church, where Mr Russell is the pastor.
'Lo and behind, we went out and gathered these eggs. We had to do a double take. We both looked with our mouths open for about five minutes before we said a word. We said this has got to be a record.'
The chicken that he believes laid the egg is normal sized.
'When you see something like that, you wonder how in the world did that ever happen?' Mr Russell said. 'We're still taking it in.'
The state Department of Agriculture has certified the egg's size.
Guinness World Records lists the smallest recorded chicken egg as 2.7 centimetres, although a man from Great Britain in May claimed earlier this year to having one that was 2 millimetres smaller.
Mr Russell said he's still undecided whether to make an application with Guinness. He does plan to preserve the egg, which he's named the John Spencer Russell egg in honour of his two grandsons - John Kenny Russell and Spencer Matthew Russell.
State Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass said: 'West Virginia's hills are full of surprises - we have a little bit of everything, it seems. I'm very pleased that Rev Russell and others are keeping agriculture alive in the Mountain State, and that he takes obvious pride in being a West Virginia farmer.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2028687/Donnie-Russell-lays-claim-world-smallest-chicken-egg.html#ixzz1VrFYcZxJ
Showing posts with label chicken egg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken egg. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Bonaparte man's chicken lays a whopper of an egg
Feb. 27, 2011
A hen living on the outskirts of Bonaparte has residents in the small southeast Iowa town clucking.
Aussie, a black Australorp chicken, laid a giant egg on Feb. 18.
The light brown egg weighs 4.1 ounces, and measures 3½ inches long and 6½ inches in circumference, according to Nathan Batten, the hen's owner.
Large eggs in grocery stores weigh about half as much, while jumbo eggs weigh about 2½ ounces, according to USDA regulations.
"It's big. It's twice the size of a large egg," said Iowa State University professor Hongwei Xin, director of the school's egg industry center.
The egg is large enough that Batten, 37, is calling his colossal prize "egg-normous."
Batten said he had trouble sleeping the day the egg popped out. He called the local paper, and a reporter took his picture and wrote a story about Aussie's achievement.
For a couple of days afterward, Batten carried the egg in his coat pocket to show people around town.
His friends working at the convenience store took one look and asked: "You sure that chicken isn't half beast?"
"It probably has about two miles on it from me walking," Batten said. "I'm lucky that dang thing never broke."
The egg is now safely stored in his refrigerator, he said.
An egg approaching that size is unusual, but not unheard of, egg experts said.
Sean Skeehan, who raises chickens at Blue Gate Farm in Chariton, said the size of an egg depends on the breed of chicken - not what it's fed.
He said his large chicken breeds have laid eggs approaching 6 inches in circumference, but acknowledged 4.1 ounces is unusually heavy.
Chickens are generally consistent in the size of eggs they lay, so he said it's no surprise that Batten reported Aussie - an Australian breed of chicken known for producing a high volume of eggs - usually lays eggs weighing about 3 ounces.
"Those are big eggs," Skeehan said.
Xin, the ISU professor, said last year a university Extension employee called him about a couple of large eggs bred by a producer near Winterset.
The eggs were about as long as the one laid by Aussie. A story appeared on a local TV newscast, he said.
Batten said he plans to contact Guinness World Records in England to see if he and Aussie have made history.
In a state dotted with towns claiming to own several of the world's largest oddities - a gigantic frying pan in Brandon and an enormous strawberry in Strawberry Point - Batten figures this is his chance to finally put Bonaparte on the map.
"After all, this is Van Buren County, and tourism is the main attraction around here," he said.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102270332
A hen living on the outskirts of Bonaparte has residents in the small southeast Iowa town clucking.
Aussie, a black Australorp chicken, laid a giant egg on Feb. 18.
The light brown egg weighs 4.1 ounces, and measures 3½ inches long and 6½ inches in circumference, according to Nathan Batten, the hen's owner.
Large eggs in grocery stores weigh about half as much, while jumbo eggs weigh about 2½ ounces, according to USDA regulations.
"It's big. It's twice the size of a large egg," said Iowa State University professor Hongwei Xin, director of the school's egg industry center.
The egg is large enough that Batten, 37, is calling his colossal prize "egg-normous."
Batten said he had trouble sleeping the day the egg popped out. He called the local paper, and a reporter took his picture and wrote a story about Aussie's achievement.
For a couple of days afterward, Batten carried the egg in his coat pocket to show people around town.
His friends working at the convenience store took one look and asked: "You sure that chicken isn't half beast?"
"It probably has about two miles on it from me walking," Batten said. "I'm lucky that dang thing never broke."
The egg is now safely stored in his refrigerator, he said.
An egg approaching that size is unusual, but not unheard of, egg experts said.
Sean Skeehan, who raises chickens at Blue Gate Farm in Chariton, said the size of an egg depends on the breed of chicken - not what it's fed.
He said his large chicken breeds have laid eggs approaching 6 inches in circumference, but acknowledged 4.1 ounces is unusually heavy.
Chickens are generally consistent in the size of eggs they lay, so he said it's no surprise that Batten reported Aussie - an Australian breed of chicken known for producing a high volume of eggs - usually lays eggs weighing about 3 ounces.
"Those are big eggs," Skeehan said.
Xin, the ISU professor, said last year a university Extension employee called him about a couple of large eggs bred by a producer near Winterset.
The eggs were about as long as the one laid by Aussie. A story appeared on a local TV newscast, he said.
Batten said he plans to contact Guinness World Records in England to see if he and Aussie have made history.
In a state dotted with towns claiming to own several of the world's largest oddities - a gigantic frying pan in Brandon and an enormous strawberry in Strawberry Point - Batten figures this is his chance to finally put Bonaparte on the map.
"After all, this is Van Buren County, and tourism is the main attraction around here," he said.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011102270332
Monday, November 29, 2010
Chicken sore after laying 4 inch egg
A chicken was left shell-shocked after laying an enormous four inch tall egg, with her surprised owner describing the poor hen as 'bow-legged.'
The monster egg measures a whopping 9cm by 5.7cm (2.2ins) and is more than twice the size of a normal egg.
It was laid by Bolt, a 20-week-old chicken from Christchurch, Dorset, who has only been laying for three weeks.
Owner Denise Sloan, a 52-year-old gardener, said she has never seen such a large egg despite owning chickens for 15 years.
The egg, which has not been fertilised, is now destined for the dinner plate.
She said of Bolt’s impressive achievement: ‘I don't know what the world record is, but all I can say is she is pretty bow-legged now.’
‘It's enormous, bigger than a duck egg.’
And for anyone wondering what to make with the egg, Denise described its size in food terms: ‘You could make two omelettes out of it.’
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/848692-chicken-sore-after-laying-4-inch-egg#ixzz16hemzjCj
The monster egg measures a whopping 9cm by 5.7cm (2.2ins) and is more than twice the size of a normal egg.
It was laid by Bolt, a 20-week-old chicken from Christchurch, Dorset, who has only been laying for three weeks.
Owner Denise Sloan, a 52-year-old gardener, said she has never seen such a large egg despite owning chickens for 15 years.
The egg, which has not been fertilised, is now destined for the dinner plate.
She said of Bolt’s impressive achievement: ‘I don't know what the world record is, but all I can say is she is pretty bow-legged now.’
‘It's enormous, bigger than a duck egg.’
And for anyone wondering what to make with the egg, Denise described its size in food terms: ‘You could make two omelettes out of it.’
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/848692-chicken-sore-after-laying-4-inch-egg#ixzz16hemzjCj
Chicken sore after laying 4 inch egg
A chicken was left shell-shocked after laying an enormous four inch tall egg, with her surprised owner describing the poor hen as 'bow-legged.'
The monster egg measures a whopping 9cm by 5.7cm (2.2ins) and is more than twice the size of a normal egg.
It was laid by Bolt, a 20-week-old chicken from Christchurch, Dorset, who has only been laying for three weeks.
Owner Denise Sloan, a 52-year-old gardener, said she has never seen such a large egg despite owning chickens for 15 years.
The egg, which has not been fertilised, is now destined for the dinner plate.
She said of Bolt’s impressive achievement: ‘I don't know what the world record is, but all I can say is she is pretty bow-legged now.’
‘It's enormous, bigger than a duck egg.’
And for anyone wondering what to make with the egg, Denise described its size in food terms: ‘You could make two omelettes out of it.’
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/848692-chicken-sore-after-laying-4-inch-egg#ixzz16hemzjCj
The monster egg measures a whopping 9cm by 5.7cm (2.2ins) and is more than twice the size of a normal egg.
It was laid by Bolt, a 20-week-old chicken from Christchurch, Dorset, who has only been laying for three weeks.
Owner Denise Sloan, a 52-year-old gardener, said she has never seen such a large egg despite owning chickens for 15 years.
The egg, which has not been fertilised, is now destined for the dinner plate.
She said of Bolt’s impressive achievement: ‘I don't know what the world record is, but all I can say is she is pretty bow-legged now.’
‘It's enormous, bigger than a duck egg.’
And for anyone wondering what to make with the egg, Denise described its size in food terms: ‘You could make two omelettes out of it.’
http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/848692-chicken-sore-after-laying-4-inch-egg#ixzz16hemzjCj
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