What a yolk! Northchurch hen lays eggs-traordinarily large one

A family of chicken-keepers from Northchurch are wondering if they’ve beaten a local record after one of their hens produced the largest egg they’ve ever seen.
Daniel Evans and sister Heidi, right, with the oversized egg and Daisy, the hen who laid it, bottom rightDaniel Evans and sister Heidi, right, with the oversized egg and Daisy, the hen who laid it, bottom right
Daniel Evans and sister Heidi, right, with the oversized egg and Daisy, the hen who laid it, bottom right

Youngster Daniel Evans, 11, discovered the egg – which weighs in at five ounces and measured four inches long – nestled inside the hen coop after collecting the others as normal. It is much too large to fit into a standard egg box, and is the work of light Sussex cross hen Daisy.

Mum Jenny said: “We’ve been keeping hens for just over three years now and we’ve never seen anything like it. We just thought, oh my goodness, what on earth!”

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“Daniel ran in and told us, and his sister Heidi couldn’t believe it. She went out to see if Daisy was OK – which thankfully she was.”

The over-sized egg was far too large to fit in an ordinary egg boxThe over-sized egg was far too large to fit in an ordinary egg box
The over-sized egg was far too large to fit in an ordinary egg box

The family also have ducks, and recently acquired some more exotic Rhode Island Red chickens. The birds are fed on a normal diet of layers’ pellets, corn and the occasional garden scrap as a treat.

Jenny said: “It’s a wonderful reward from the chickens and ducks to have fresh eggs on tap daily – it’s almost like a thank you from them to us for looking after them, and giving them such a happy free range home.”

The Evans clan – who live on Northchurch Common – soon found they had surplus eggs, so decided to put a board up outside their home advertising their free-range wonders.

Jenny said: “Now we have a good flow of customers who enjoy fresh eggs and double yolks, too.”

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