This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

OH NO

June 14th, 2014

Yesterday morning I went out to gather eggs in the coop and found a teeny tiny egg in the nesting box beside a few full sized eggs.  I knew exactly what it was – a cock egg, or so it’s called by many people.  Others call it a wind egg.  The history & lore surrounding these little eggs is really funny, there’s a great article over on Granny Miller if you want to read all about them.
cock egg
From the Granny Miller blog post: “Cock eggs according to different folklore traditions bring bad luck or illness if they are brought into the house. That’s because a cock egg is believed to have malefic and magical powers. They are reputed to be of value to sorcerers and magicians for mixing magical potions and casting spells. The way the story goes is that if a toad, serpent or witch at the behest of Satan incubates a cock egg, the resulting hatchling will be a cockatrice or a basilisk. A cockatrice or basilisk is an ancient winged monster with a serpent’s body and a rooster’s head that can kill and destroy by its breath and glance.”
cock egg (1)
Since this little egg was laid on Friday the 13th with a full moon I think we’re in for some very bad luck here at Chiot’s Run. Or perhaps this is the rooster we sent to the chopping block two weeks ago sending us a message.  Maybe I should stick it under my broody hen to see if she’ll hatch out a cockatrice.

Do you know of any great livestock or garden lore that you think about from time to time?

7 Comments to “OH NO”
  1. Marina on June 14, 2014 at 6:51 am

    That looks just like a pullet egg, and I love those!
    Is this called a cock egg because you don’t have any pullets right now?
    Good luck growing a cockatrice, we expect to see it when they start Harry Potter again!

    Reply to Marina's comment

    • Susy on June 14, 2014 at 9:21 am

      Yes – we have no pullets right now. It’s actually a wee bit smaller than a pullet egg. I haven’t broken it open yet to see if it has a yolk.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  2. Donna A. on June 14, 2014 at 10:05 am

    A cockatrice would help out with any fox problem…
    I’m sure Tara would like a little buddy! Hehe.

    Reply to Donna A.'s comment

  3. Maybelline on June 14, 2014 at 4:03 pm

    It just might be one of the best eggs ever.

    Reply to Maybelline's comment

  4. Amy J on June 14, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    We had one yesterday too! and there are no pullets in the house here either.

    Reply to Amy J's comment

  5. Erika on June 15, 2014 at 9:57 am

    We live in Pennsylvania German country and there is a lot of folklore surrounding gardening. Here is a post I wrote about St Gertrude’s Day, the patron saint of gardeners and cats.
    http://4acresandastream.blogspot.com/2014/03/happy-st-gertrudes-day.html
    I love all the old folklore!

    Reply to Erika's comment

  6. Lindsey @HalfDimeHomestead on June 17, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    That is hilarious! I don’t know of any folklore. Just local lore that when the Seagulls show up inland we’re gonna have a storm. Which is always true. I’d eat that egg and show the bad juju who’s boss.
    :-)

    Reply to Lindsey @HalfDimeHomestead's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin
Read previous post:
Friday Favorite: Bitter Lemon

Ahhhh, there's nothing like a refreshing beverage when you've been working in the garden on a hot day. When I...

Close