This egg was found in my cousins yard and we have no idea what it is or where it came from. There wasn’t a nest that we could find. This photo is of my cousin’s husband holding it and he’s not a small guy. The egg was a good bit bigger than a softball. We live in Alabama where there are lots of creeks and the Tombigbee River is maybe 8 miles or so from their place. My cousin’s dog got a hold of the egg and when it did there was yellowish green slime in it. It stunk very bad so no doubt it was a rotten egg of some sort. We would really like to know what could have laid such a big egg and so near to their home. Especially with all of us having small children that run around the property. Shalisha
To follow this topic, click here.Who laid this large stinky egg?
This egg was found in my cousins yard and we have no idea what it is or where it came from. There wasn’t a nest that we could find. This photo is of my cousin’s husband holding it and he’s not a small guy. The egg was a good bit bigger than a softball. We live in Alabama where there are lots of creeks and the Tombigbee River is maybe 8 miles or so from their place. My cousin’s dog got a hold of the egg and when it did there was yellowish green slime in it. It stunk very bad so no doubt it was a rotten egg of some sort. We would really like to know what could have laid such a big egg and so near to their home. Especially with all of us having small children that run around the property. Shalisha
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Hi Shalisha, thanks for writing! There is only one animal on earth that lays an egg like that, and it’s an ostrich. Aligators, crocodiles and other reptile eggs are nowhere near that big. They are also leathery and not hard like a chicken egg. An emu egg could be almost this big, but they are oval shaped and blue or green. Cassowary eggs are green. Kiwis lay large white eggs, but they are also oval shaped. Also, your egg seems to have the textured pattern of an ostrich egg. I am 99.9% certain that what you found is an ostrich egg.
How did an ostrich egg get in your yard? That’s the real question. There are ostrich farms in Alabama and either you have a female ostrich on the loose, or someone bought some ostrich eggs and for some reason, left one outside. Maybe a dog carried it into your cousin’s yard? It sounds like it must have gone bad — hence the terrible smell.
As for whether this is a sign of danger for your children, an ostrich is not likely to just attack a person for no reason, but they can be dangerous when they feel threatened and try to protect themselves. They have a powerful kick, with large clawed feet. If you see one in your neighborhood, you should call the police. Tom