Mother and daughter left shell-shocked after finding egg inside an egg

By Tom Campbell and Samantha Teasdale via SWNS

A mother and daughter were left shell-shocked after cracking open an egg for breakfast - only to find a smaller one inside.

Laura Nancarrow, 29, and daughter Lily Thomson, 9, were not sure what to expect when one of their 16 hens laid a giant egg.

But when Lily cracked it open the next morning for breakfast, she was surprised to discover another egg, no bigger than a two pence piece, nesting inside with its shell intact.

Ms. Nancarrow said: "Lily normally wakes up very early and checks her hens, but she was a bit later that day.

"She went down to her hen house and saw a giant egg!

"She was very excited when she found it, but had to go straight to school so decided she would have it the following morning to make pancakes with."

The chances of a chicken laying an "egg in an egg" are believed to be around one in a thousand.

Ms. Nancarrow , who works at her parents pub, The Wallace Arms in Haltwhistle, England, said: "We were a bit skeptical about what would be inside and when she cracked it open, she found the regular egg with the tiny one!

"She decided to keep the shell and the tiny egg and took it into my parents pub to show every one and still has it now."

Ms. Nancarrow had bought the hens from a friend as an early bird birthday present to Lily a few months ago.

She continued: "We have 16 Hens and one cockerel.

"Lily got them in November just before the lockdown as an early birthday present.

"She has wanted them for years, I’ve never had them before but my partner is a farmer so he knows a bit.

"We have sheep already, which Lily has always loved being involved with.

"Luckily, we bought her hens from a friend who taught us a lot too."

Despite the odds, Ms. Nancarrow believes her partner, who is a farmer, has cracked the mystery.

"We don't know for sure, but my partner did some digging and came up with a possible explanation," she said.

"It could be that the small egg has traveled backwards up the hen's oviduct before coming out and then a new egg has formed around it."