Shropshire farmer shell-shocked over giant egg
A farmer has made an eggs-traordinary discovery after one of her hens laid what she believes is one of the biggest eggs in the country.
Jill Jarrett was shell-shocked when she saw the massive egg while out collecting at her farm in Whixall, near Wem.
Mrs Jarrett, who lives on Charity Farm, said: "I think this maybe the biggest chicken egg laid in Shropshire.
"This one is 8 ins circumference. It's not quite as big as the record egg, but it's not far off.
"I was so surprised, we have had really tiny eggs but never anything this large before."
Mrs Jarrett, who has lived on the farm with her partner John Yates for 20 years, has 12 hens of a mixture of breeds including rescue battery hens, black rock hens and Sussex hens. The cracking discovery was made while she was out collecting eggs which she mainly keeps for herself or sells to some of the villagers.
"I was just out collecting and I just could not believe it. But because I keep the 12 hens I have no idea which one it was, but one of them must have a bit of a sore bum after laying this," said the 68-year-old.
"It is bigger than a duck egg, which is incredible. It's definitely the biggest egg of its kind I have ever seen.
"I don't really know how it has happened, they only get fed normal pellets and any waste from the house we have for them.
"We will be breaking it after the grandchildren have seen it at the weekend to see how many yolks it has, but I'm sure there must be at least three."
Hens' eggs typically have a circumference of 5.5 ins and are 2.3 ins long. In 2010 in the UKHarriet the hen of Newquay laid an egg 4.58 ins long with a 9.1 ins circumference and this one isn't very far behind.
