Soft-shell egg

A week ago, someone laid an egg without a shell.  Only two of my hens lay brown eggs at the moment, so it's either a seven-year-old Cuckoo Marans hen (!) or a one year-old Speckled Sussex.  In any event, I suspect she just had a hormonal moment.  It happens.

 I brought the egg into the house, along with a normal green egg, and a "fart egg" which might actually be a sparrow egg.  They remained in a bowl on the kitchen counter for observation.

It only took a few days -- less than a week -- for the shell-less egg to shrivel up into a sort of walnut looking lump. 

Which only goes to show how very important the shell is to an egg!