Ever since Malappuram native AK Shihabudheen posted a few pictures and videos of eggs laid by hens in his poultry farm, on Facebook last week, he has been receiving incessant phone calls from people belonging to different walks of life. In one of the videos, Shihabudheen can be seen breaking open an egg and pouring its contents onto a plate. But to the surprise of many, the egg yolk is not yellow in colour as expected, but rather dark green in colour.
From journalists, friends to veterinary experts, many have been calling up Shihabudheen to know the mystery behind this. But Shihabudheen and his family are also equally perplexed by this phenomenon.
“It was nine months ago that we first got such an egg with a green yolk from a hen in our small poultry farm set up along the house. We were astonished at first, and did not use the egg to consume. All the eggs which the hen laid, were this kind and so we started to incubate the eggs. Out of the six chicks which hatched from these eggs, a few have started to lay eggs and those yolks are also green in colour,” Shihabudheen told TNM.
With more similar eggs being laid, the family started to use it for consumption. Shihabudheen says that the eggs taste just like any other egg and all of his family members, including his son, now eat them.
“A few days back, I was talking to a few friends about this and they were also curious. It was then that I decided to post this on Facebook,” he adds.
On knowing about the phenomenon, officials of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, visited Shihabudheen’s farm a few days back. Poultry experts of the University have started conducting laboratory tests to find out the reason for this rare phenomenon.
“We have started doing a few tests to find out the reason behind this. This is a rare phenomenon, and there is a high possibility that it might be because of the feed that is given to the birds,” Dr S Sankaralingam, Assistant Professor of Poultry Science, Department of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, told TNM.
Meanwhile, Shihabudheen says that he usually gives normal feed consisting of rice and coconut oil cake. “This is the usual feed that I give to all poultry, and some days we also give organic kitchen waste from the house,” he adds.
Shihabudheen, like many others, is waiting for the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University experts to find out the reason behind this phenomenon.
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