Holly Brown made an ‘eggciting’ discovery near her chicken coop a few days ago.
The Washago woman saw a perfectly round whitish-blue object outside the Wash Eggo Inn, her aptly named chicken coop.
“At first, I thought it was a ball the dog found,” said Brown. “When I picked it up, I realized — to my surprise — it was an egg.”
But it wasn’t egg-shaped; it was perfectly round.
Brown posted photos of the egg on her Facebook page and quickly learned just how rare it is to find a round egg.
“After a friend commented that a lady in England sold one on eBay for over $700, I researched to find out it is a very rare occurrence,” said Brown, noting some websites claim they are a one-in-a-billion find.
“Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket,” she quipped.
Brown will not be selling her extraordinary discovery on eBay, however.
“I’ll just keep the egg for a conversation piece,” she told OrilliaMatters.
Brown has had backyard chickens at her Washago property for three years.
“I inherited the four blue egg layers from my son when he disbanded his flock this year. In the spring of 2022, I had 13 chickens but, sadly, lost six to a fox,” she explained.
“Since then, I’ve had to really watch them when they free range even though I have a boundary fence.”
To help improve their odds, she got a border collie puppy named Lucy in May to help patrol the area.
For Brown the chickens, which typically lay five to seven eggs daily, are not just relied on for fresh eggs.
“I regard them as pets and watching their antics every day is entertaining,” she said, noting they feed her, her neighbours and friends.
“When I’m invited to a potluck you can bet on getting devilled eggs,” she quipped.