The egg has been called “Nature’s Perfect Package” and, though I know that eggs come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, when I visualize ‘egg-shaped’ it’s the common farmyard hen’s egg that comes to mind – one pointy end, one rounded end and basically… you know, egg-shaped.
One of our Wyandottes does not seem satisfied with perfection, however. She seems to be working on a new egg design. We think that she is the one who has given us numbers of double-yolkers which are quite a bit bigger than the usual hen’s egg, and now she has produced a differently shaped egg, as well. It’s pointy on both ends and, though we’ve yet to crack it open, it does look big enough to have two yolks.
I don’t know that this is an ‘improved’ egg shape. I’ve always understood that the reason an egg is rounded on one end and pointed on the other is because this enables it to roll in a circular path along its most pointed end (which really comes in handy for birds laying eggs in high places; there’s far less danger of the egg rolling out of its nest.) So, does pointed on both ends mean that this egg will roll in tighter circles? Or maybe the hen is acrophobic like I am and the next boxes, though not very high off the coop floor, are scary to her.
I have mixed feelings about her inclination to experiment. On the one hand, I think creativity (even in chickens) should be encouraged. On the other hand, my experience with ‘improved packaging’ in the real, non-chicken world leaves much to be desired. In fact, just last week I had to forego mayo on my sandwich because I COULD NOT open the damned Best Foods Mayonnaise jar. And don’t get me started about child-proof containers…
We can only hope that Ms. Wyandotte’s newly-shaped perfect package is still of the easy-open variety…
A fun read, as always, when you write about the hens and their productions. Sarah’s are molting now, so egg production is nil. She usually brings us a dozen every other week or so and we have noticed that the shells of the backyard coop layed eggs are almost always more difficult to crack. I have assumed that this is because they range in the garden during the day and find the minerals they require for the production of a tough shell…