Is this legit? Seems too perfect. Egg.

[markhookilah]

My father in law found this while poking around on our land were clearing in Wimberley, TX. I’m blown away by it, it’s so perfect I am perplexed. Is this real? I don’t know of anyone who’s been out on this previously non-cleared property that could have planted anything. What do y’all think?

[markhookilah]

Here are some pics 

[Jared C]

I don't see the typical patterning or cracking of egg shell. Convincing shape though. 99.9% of the time, "eggs" will be geologic. As for the hole, I have no idea. Regardless, something hatching (or a predator) would likely not drill such a perfect hole, but who knows. Hopefully someone with a little more knowledge on the subject than I will see this as well

[markhookilah]

were you able to open the video? I am saving it a different way as I cannot open it on my computer as posted. I took it on my iphone.

 

[Rockwood]

This has an artifact ring to me. Like a purposely manufactured tool. How deep is the hole ? 

[markhookilah]

Here's an MP4 version of the video that hopefully is more accessible to people on a computer.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rEXMs3o8tJ8lH0v7HgiZGZ4bIpfJ0Jjg/view?usp=sharing

[markhookilah]

@Rockwood - the hole goes all the way through the shell. Can you see the 2nd attempt at me posting a video? The egg is hollow and the hole goes completely through the "shell". My father in law found this out on our land that we are clearing, it is very rural and I don't know how something fake could get planted out there, I guess anything is possible, just seems so bizarre. There are scratches all over the egg and the hole has marks around it, I'll try to get better pictures of the marks around the hole. The video shows the item better than the pics.

 

[JohnJ]

Dummy eggs have been used for quite some time to help poultry farmers encourage chickens to lay in specific areas.  There could be any number of plausible explanations for where it was found.  

 

It's a cool find; but not a fossil.  

[Rockwood]

The first paying job I had was to find where a hen was nesting now.

[JohnJ]

Here is a blast from the past...

[markhookilah]

Neighbor told me just now he used to put them out for snakes to eat abs it would kill the snake as it couldn’t digest it. Scratch marks May he from the snake’s attempt to digest.

[jpc]

34 minutes ago, markhookilah said:

Neighbor told me just now he used to put them out for snakes to eat abs it would kill the snake as it couldn’t digest it. Scratch marks May he from the snake’s attempt to digest.

Interesting tale.  Snakes have a great sense of smell, so I would be absolutely shocked if a snake could be fooled this easily.  On the other hand if you smeared it with fresh egg goo.... 

[Tidgy's Dad]

54 minutes ago, Rockwood said:

The first paying job I had was to find where a hen was nesting now.

My first job was pretending to be an egg to encourage the chickens to lay. 

[FranzBernhard]

7 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

My first job was pretending to be an egg to encourage the chickens to lay. 

Please don´t tease us!! What was the "outcome"??? 

Franz Bernhard

[Tidgy's Dad]

10 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said:

Please don´t tease us!! What was the "outcome"??? 

It didn't end well. 

I got hungry................................

[FranzBernhard]

2 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

I got hungry................................

Poor eggs? Poor chickens? Either way, my curiosity is satisfied now....

Franz Bernhard

[JohnJ]

1 hour ago, markhookilah said:

Neighbor told me just now he used to put them out for snakes to eat abs it would kill the snake as it couldn’t digest it. Scratch marks May he from the snake’s attempt to digest.

 

Anything, from coyotes to raccoons, could have 'played' with it over the years.

[Rockwood]

2 hours ago, jpc said:

On the other hand if you smeared it with fresh egg goo.... 

Hence the additional effort to hollow the center.

 

3 hours ago, markhookilah said:

Scratch marks May he from the snake’s attempt to digest.

I think more likely they are tool marks that were a bit too deep to bother smoothing out. It would make sense that the shape was carved from within a larger piece of stone, using the mass as a vise to hold the worked piece until near completion. 

[JohnJ]

1 hour ago, Rockwood said:

Hence the additional effort to hollow the center.

 

I think more likely they are tool marks that were a bit too deep to bother smoothing out. It would make sense that the shape was carved from within a larger piece of stone, using the mass as a vise to hold the worked piece until near completion. 

 

I think most of these dummy nesting eggs are made from a lower grade porcelain slip within mold.  After being exposed to the elements for a while, I think it's easier to gouge the surface.

[GeschWhat]

3 hours ago, JohnJ said:

 

I think most of these dummy nesting eggs are made from a lower grade porcelain slip within mold.  After being exposed to the elements for a while, I think it's easier to gouge the surface.

I never heard of dummy nesting eggs (fascinating by the way), but my first thought was a weathered bisque-fired ceramic egg as well.

[Randyw]

I used to own a ceramic shop. That looks exactly like the eggs I used to pour and fire. Except for the scratches of course.....

[LabRatKing]

I agree with everyone this is a dummy egg, or training egg as we called them. Coop Chickens are dumb as dirt and would seasonally quit laying.  My job as a kid was to head out to the coop and place in the dummies  to get the dummies laying again. It was fun to watch 30 or so hens fight over one nesting slot to try and take care of the one egg they all apparently laid...

 

As for the marks, betcha there was some rototilling done there at some point.

[Rockwood]

And you've never observed a similar behavior in such an intelligent species as humans ?

[fifbrindacier]

On 4/1/2021 at 7:45 PM, Tidgy's Dad said:

My first job was pretending to be an egg to encourage the chickens to lay. 

 

On 4/1/2021 at 7:53 PM, FranzBernhard said:

Please don´t tease us!! What was the "outcome"??? 

Franz Bernhard

 

On 4/1/2021 at 8:05 PM, Tidgy's Dad said:

It didn't end well. 

I got hungry................................

No wonder Tiggy is so shy, turtles lay eggs after all. Seeing how much big her eggs can be by watching you and knowing you could eat them... that's not very stimulating.

[LabRatKing]

1 hour ago, Rockwood said:

And you've never observed a similar behavior in such an intelligent species as humans ?

I try to avoid humans as much as possible...come to think of it I miss the chickens...