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Unique Spherical Egg Discovered by Devon Farm Worker

A farm worker in Devon has made an extraordinary discovery: what she believes to be a rare spherical egg. Alison Greene, an egg handler at Fenton Farm located near the Somerset border, has worked in the field for three years, handling over 42 million eggs without encountering one as perfectly round as this.

The 57-year-old plans to auction the unusual egg in Exeter next March, with all funds raised going to the Devon Rape Crisis charity. Greene recounted her surprise upon finding the egg in December, noting its peculiar behavior compared to typical eggs. “It was really surprising because they roll in a specific way and this one just didn’t – it just stood out,” she remarked.

Greene humorously claimed that her egg might be more unique than those owned by well-known figures, questioning, “Elon Musk hasn’t got a round egg, has he?” She remains optimistic about the potential auction price, stating, “Hopefully, it will sell for a lot of money.”

Brian Goodison-Blanks, an auctioneer at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in Exeter, affirmed the rarity of spherical chicken eggs. “Spherical chicken eggs are quite unusual, and there have been people that have paid north of £100 and sometimes £200 for them,” he explained.

This isn’t the first instance of a spherical egg commanding attention at auction. Last month, a spherical hen’s egg, purchased by a man after enjoying a few drinks, sold for £200 at an auction in Berkshire. Ed Pownell, the buyer from Lambourn, spent £150 on that egg before donating it to the Iuventas Foundation, which provides mentoring and mental health support to youth in Oxfordshire.

The egg that Pownell bought was initially found in a box from a supermarket in Ayr by a woman, which led to confusion when the charity first received it. Roz Rapp from the foundation initially thought the donation “was a joke” before the egg was successfully auctioned off. “We’re delighted and thrilled the egg sold as it means we can continue to do what we are doing,” Rapp stated.

The fascination with spherical eggs is not new; in 2015, a spherical chicken egg laid by a hen named Ping Pong in Latchingdon, Essex, sold for £480 on eBay. That auction also served a charitable purpose, benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

As the anticipation builds for Greene’s auction, her spherical egg not only highlights the intriguing quirks of nature but also serves a philanthropic cause, embodying both uniqueness and generosity.

Source
www.theguardian.com