Q – One of my older hens produced a strange ‘capsule shaped’ egg. It had a complete circular band and, to all appearances, looked like two half eggs joined together. The egg was 8.5 cm long; it contained two yolks, one in each end, and they appeared to be two ‘separate’ eggs. Is there a reason for this? I have never seen such an egg before! My hens are all freerange and very good layers; they get good food and are wormed regularly, etc. I would be very interested to hear your views on this strange egg. Judy Wright, via email
A – VR says: Due to the higher number of people keeping laying hens now, and their good observations, we are being told about many different odd-shapes and sizes of eggs. The egg laying process is not always perfect and the older hens will lay more double-yolked eggs, which is what this one sounds like, albeit without a shell and probably part of the shell membrane being the circular band. It is likely to be a glitch, and she should lay normally, but with a higher proportion of double-yolkers.
