If you’ve ever reached into the nest box and found a teensy, tiny little egg sitting among the other full size chicken eggs, it may have come as a surprise! Did a wild bird get in the coop and lay an egg, too? Where did it come from? It was laid by one of your hens! Here is how small little fairy eggs happen to chickens:
My Hen Laid a Small Fairy Egg!
These tiny orbs, around 1/3 to 1/5 the size of a normal chicken egg, happen naturally. They are called fairy eggs, fart eggs, wind eggs, rooster eggs and a number of other nicknames because they have been discovered in nest boxes for centuries by keepers. Today, they are most commonly called fairy eggs and any hen has a chance of laying one!
How Often Do They Happen?
It is rare for an individual hen to lay more than one but getting two from a hen passing some small irritant can happen. (Check my photos, it happened twice to one blue laying Prairie Bluebell Egger hen on our homestead!) If you have a flock full of laying hens, you’re likely to find one or more per year.
What Causes Fairy Eggs?
Fairy eggs happen when something in her reproductive tract, like maybe a tiny irritant, triggers her body to surround what it thinks to be a “yolk” (but is not) with albumin (egg white) and coat it with a calcium shell. Sometimes a hen’s body won’t release a yolk but will still form a shell around a bit of egg white that was present. She then quickly lays the little oopsie egg and goes about her day, perhaps grateful that the experience wasn’t as painful as usual!
Is My Hen Sick?
No, laying one fairy egg is not an indication that your hen is sick. It is simply a type of “misfire” egg where her body cleared an irritant or tiny stray bit of tissue through the egg laying process. She will generally lay a full size egg the next day.
Fairy Eggs Can Be Any Color!
These charming little oddities will be laid in whatever egg color your hen lays. Blue, green, brown, white, cream…all are possible! Fairy eggs can be slightly darker than a hen’s usual egg because the pigments may be more concentrated. Or they can be lighter because of the time of year they were laid (hot) or because then hen was able to pass the egg so quickly, it is not deeply colored.
Can Fairy Eggs Be Speckled?
Yes they can! One of the eggs in my images is a lightly speckled sea foam fairy egg I saved from a hen who has since passed on. I also have gotten a speckled brown egg from one of my brown laying “failed” olive egger hens.
Saving Fairy Eggs
I have so many fairy eggs in my images because I save them. A few years ago I read about museum eggs, which is where you can let an egg with no yolk dry out at room temperature and it will not rot. This is handy because fairy eggs make adorable fillers for some of the natural bird nests we find on our property. If you leave the eggs to dry untouched on a high shelf and they feel lightweight with no odor after 6 months, you have successfully created a museum egg which can now be saved and displayed as decor if you’d like.
If you want to eventually display the fairy eggs lying on their sides in a nest, be sure to dry them on their sides. The dried out albumin inside will reduce to a single, heavy spot and if dried facing up, it will act like a weight, always keeping the egg upright.
Please be aware that if you keep an egg with a yolk, it will generally rot and explode.
Can a Fairy Egg Hatch?
Sadly, no, they cannot. Fairy eggs typically do not contain an egg yolk, so there is usually no germinal disc, which means there is no fertilization and if incubated, the egg will not develop. Placing a fairy egg in an incubator can sometimes dry it out but there is also a risk of the higher heat and humidity causing it to quickly rot.
Can I Force a Hen to Lay a Fairy Egg?
No, there doesn’t seem to be a way to make a hen lay a fairy egg. They happen naturally and unexpectedly. Saving them over time is one way to create a neat collection. If you love small eggs, Coturnix quail lay eggs that taste and bake just like chicken eggs for use in the kitchen!
Are Fairy Eggs the Same Size as Quail Eggs?
Fairy Eggs vary in size. They can be laid incredibly small or somewhat similar in size to bantam eggs. Many fairy eggs are similar in size to Coturnix quail eggs. Some of my celadon Coturnix quail lay eggs that look very much like Easter Egger chicken fairy eggs. But quail eggs have a yolk and if kept they will generally rot.
Tiny Colored Fairy Eggs
I think fairy eggs are one of the many unexpected delights of keeping chickens, especially colored egg layers! If you are lucky enough to find a fairy egg and want to attempt to save it as a keepsake from your flock, try drying it. Mine have done the best slowly drying at 68-75°F room temperature undisturbed for 6 months. Place them under a glass cloche to protect them, and any found bird’s nest they may be sitting in, to enjoy them as a display.
You Might Also Enjoy Reading:
Weird Chicken Eggs – with pictures!
Chicken Laid an Egg With No Shell
How to Breed for EVERY Chicken Egg Color
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