A RETIRED marine engineer from Weymouth thought he was cracking up when he found two eggs within an egg.

John Kirby found it was no yolk after the bizarre egg was laid by one of his new hens, Rosie Red.

Mr Kirby said the egg was about three-and-a-half inches long and compared it to the size of a duck egg.

He discovered its unusual contents as he was preparing his breakfast.

Mr Kirby, of Rylands Lane, Wyke Regis, said: The egg she laid must have made her eyes water. It was enormous.”

He added: “When I cracked it open I thought it might be two yolks, but it turns out there were two more eggs inside.”

Mr Kirby said Rosie is only 12 weeks old and the mystery egg was only the second she had produced.

He said: “She laid her first egg and we found this one a few days later.

Chief poultry advisor for the National Farmers’ Union Kelly Watson said although the discovery was unusual it’s not unheard of.

She said “Without getting too technical, the process for the egg to move along the tract takes about 24 hours, but if an egg is delayed for some reason one egg can end up merging into another.”

She added: “We don’t exactly know what causes this to happen but we suspect a fright or the bird jumping up and down for some reason may influence it.”

The discovery comes a few months after former dairy farmer John Fellows from Weymouth found a half-inch long mini egg within an egg while making scrambled eggs.

Mr Fellows told the Echo at the time he would keep his egg for posterity but Mr Kirby expects he will throw his away.

“I have kept it in the fridge for a while, but it’s starting to get smelly now,” he said.