A hen's hilarious reaction to laying her first egg is making the internet chuckle, receiving over 40,000 views.
The amusing clip was shared to Reddit's "Animals Being Derps" forum by Chrissy Chin (u/cowskeeper), and shows a flabbergasted Henny clearly questioning everything she knows about life.
"Hens don't normally look so stunned," Chin, from Langley, Canada, told Newsweek.
"She was in this deep trance so I walked over to see if she was ok."
Clearly not prepared for this moment, Henny looks disturbed by the object in front of her. Eyes wide and unmoving, her focus never leaves the egg—even after Chin gives her a gentle poke in the side.
According to feed supplier Purina Mills, healthy, well-fed hens can lay up to 250 eggs in the first year of their life. They usually lay their first egg at around 18 weeks of age, with a new egg formed every 24 to 26 hours. It's normal for a hen's first eggs to start out small, before gradually increasing in size.
Hens take an annual break from laying while they're molting, which is usually in the autumn. "Peak" egg-laying age is at roughly 30 weeks, with hens producing fewer eggs every year moving forward.
A hobby farmer who has raised several chickens, Chin said the 22-week-old chicken's reaction was "not typical."
"Most times they will just get up and run away, or they will throw dirt or shavings at their egg like they are burying it," she said.
Chin said chickens will also occasionally sing "the egg song"—the noise other hens make when a flock member is laying. It's not known why chickens do this, but a fellow hen can be heard singing in the background of Chin's video.
Apparently, Henny is usually a "normal chicken." Each of Chin's hens has its own personality.
"Some like to be picked up, some never want to be held," she explained.
"Each night when they go to bed, I count each [all 80] of them to make sure that they made it back to the coop."
Reddit users found Henny's dramatic reaction hysterical, with loki-is-a-god writing: "That was no yolk."
"You can say that she was...shellshocked," joked sevenkeleven.
"She looks like she's going to need therapy," said cakivalue.
"That is the thousand yard stare of an existential crisis," agreed Gary-F*****-Oak.
"Hen.exe has stopped working," wrote usinjin.
"To be fair, I'd look like that too if I'd just given birth to a solid object the size of my head," said Raephstel.
"I want to see the reaction when she realizes it's a daily thing," commented My_Knee_is_a_Ship.
"Eggs are just a hen's period," claimed Substantial-Note-454. "So yeah, I can say this is the appropriate reaction."
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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