The year is 2017, and a redditor named bohiko posts a picture of a single egg sitting on a kitchen counter. The caption reads: "2017." That's it. And somehow, it's perfect. Because if you keep chickens, or are kept by them, you already know that egg isn't just breakfast. That egg is a statement. That egg is a tiny, fragile bomb of anxiety waiting to go off.
We've all been there. You gather the eggs, wash them off, and then you see it: one that looks… wrong. Not cracked. Not dirty. Just off. Maybe the shell is thinner than usual. Maybe there's a weird ridge. Maybe it's that soft, rubbery texture that makes you wonder if you accidentally collected a moon rock. And in that moment, all your chicken-keeping confidence evaporates. You hold it up to the light. You tap it gently against the sink. You squint at it like it owes you money. The fear is real. The fear is silly. The fear is absolutely, unapologetically yours.
Here's the truth: we're still scared of our own eggs, even after years of raising these feathered friends. And that's okay. It doesn't make you a bad chicken parent. It makes you human. The chickens themselves don't seem to care. They just lay their little ovals and cluck at us like we're the ones being ridiculous. Which, let's be honest, we are. But knowing that doesn't stop the heart from skipping a beat when you spot an egg that looks like a prop from a low-budget horror film.
If a reader came to us and asked, "How do I stop being afraid of weird eggs?" we'd say this: you don't. You learn to laugh at it instead. Crack that suspicious egg into a separate bowl. Sniff it. Examine it. And if it passes the smell test, scramble it up and call it a triumph. If it doesn't, toss it out and give your birds a little side-eye. The fear doesn't go away. It just becomes part of the routine. So yes, 2017 was a scary year for eggs, and every year since has been too. But the trick isn't to be brave. The trick is to keep cracking.