Eggs are one of the most reliable ingredients to ever exist. They’re perfect for breakfast, baked goods, and an extra kick of nutrients whenever you need it.
While they’re extremely dependable, once in a while, you open a carton and find something strange.
That’s what recently happened to one Austin man, TikTok creator @DayDreamer2Tired, who decided to share the experience on the platform. In a clip that got over 51,500 views, he says he came across a “bumpy egg.”
What Was Wrong With This Egg?
“I just got back from the grocery store and I had to show you guys this,” the creator says at the start of the clip.
He then points the camera toward a carton of eggs. At first, they all look normal.
“I wonder if you guys are gonna be excited as I was when I first saw it,” he says. “’Cause never in my 32 years of life have I ever seen…”
Then he picks up one of them.
“A bumpy egg,” he says.
The egg appears to have a wavy, ridged shell rather than a smooth one.
“What in the world?” he asks. “I’ve never seen this before.”
In a follow-up video, @DayDreamer2Tired actually cracked the bumpy egg open. Both the yolk and the eggshell from the inside looked normal.
Why Does This Happen?
This looks like a condition called a corrugated egg.
According to a publication by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, corrugated eggs happen during plumping, which is the process where nutrient-rich fluids are pumped into membrane-covered eggs before the shell forms.
If that process is interrupted or not properly controlled, it can end up with a rough, corrugated-looking shell, as the one @DayDreamer2Tired showed in his video.
The abnormality is more common in older hens, but younger hens can lay corrugated eggs, too. Things like heat stress, salty water, poor nutrition, and mycotoxin-contaminated diets have been known to cause it.
According to UGA, corrugated eggs may get downgraded because of shell quality, depending on how rough the shell is. But the safety concern with them is usually whether the shell is cracked. If the shell is broken or cracked, you should not consume it.
Commenters Weighed In
In the comments, some viewers said they had seen eggs like this before.
“I don’t see them often, but I do have chickens and I have seen them,” one commenter wrote. “Trust me. The egg is fine.”
Another commenter offered a possible explanation.
“Bumpy chicken eggs are usually caused by excess calcium or vitamin D in a hen’s diet, which settles on the shell during formation,” they wrote. “Other causes include stress, heat, a defective shell gland, or the hen simply aging. These eggs are perfectly safe to eat.”
However, that explanation may not totally match what the TikToker showed. Excess calcium usually shows up more like deposits or raised lumps on top of the shell. This egg appeared to have more of a wavy, corrugated pattern.
Another viewer had experienced a different mystery.
“I dont know how it happened, but many years ago I bought a dozen eggs and every single one of them were double yolk,” they wrote. “To this day I still cant explain it.”
BroBible has reached out to @DayDreamer2Tired via TikTok messages for comment.