Egg within an egg: 2 for the price of 1

“I cracked it into the pan and out came a small yolk,” she says. “But to my amazement there was another fully formed egg in the shell.  I then cracked open the inner egg which had a yolk the same size as the first,” she says.

According to La Frenais, the egg was in a tray of super-sized free range eggs. She says that she will keep the shells of the eggs as mementoes.

Some scientists and experts describe this unsusal egg as a freak of nature. There was a similar case in New South Wales in 2004.

According to Sydney University poultry science professor Tom Scott, a normal egg disturbed in the shell gland could move back up into the oviduct and start production all over again, resulting in an egg inside an egg.

However, Auckland Zoo vet Berend Westera says the case is rare and defies logic. He has consulted colleagues overseas who have seen similar things. They say there are documented cases from the late 1800s to 1945.