8/18/2011
Not a month after a near-world record chicken egg was discovered in a Roan County henhouse, The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) says a Raleigh County man may have found the smallest egg on record.
“West Virginia’s hills are full of surprises – we have a little bit of everything, it seems,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. “I’m very pleased that Rev. Russell and others are keeping agriculture alive in the Mountain State, and that he takes obvious pride in being a West Virginia farmer.”
Dubbed the John Spencer Russell egg in honor of his two grandsons, the Rev. Donnie Russell says he found the egg on July 28, 2011. He brought it to WVDA headquarters at Guthrie where it weighed in at .122 ounces, or 3.46 grams. It measured 2.1 cm by 1.69 cm – approximately the size of a penny.
Based on his internet research, Russell says he believes it is a world record. He is in the process of having it certified and plans to preserve the egg. He said that he and his wife keep about a dozen chickens and give the eggs away. He said the bird he believes laid the egg is a normal-size chicken. “We thank the good Lord above for this being a West Virginia egg,” he said.
Contact Information
Buddy Davidson, Communications Officer
304-558-3708; 304-541-5932 (cell)
bdavidson@ag.state.wv.us