A PERPLEXED Fordingbridge farmer has been left trying to crack the case of a strange coloured batch of eggs.

As featured in the Forest Journal last year, Eileen Witt of Midgham Farm thought there had been some sort of fowl-up after finding a half white, half brown egg in her barn.

But because there are 3,500 free-range chickens, finding the hen who had laid the mysterious egg was a mission impossible.

And over the last few weeks, more patterned eggs have been laid - leaving Mrs Witt scratching her head.

She said: “I have been farming since 1978 and have been primarily chicken farming since 1987 and I have never come across such a strange batch of eggs.

“The only explanation I can think of is that the egg got stuck as it was being laid and was then oxidised, although this is by no means proven.

“Since the brown and white egg, several more odd eggs have been laid, which look like they have been splattered with paint.

“Although speckled eggs are quite common, these ones are speckled on just half the egg, which is something I have never seen before.

“The speckles are actually calcium deposits from their diets.

“Chickens need to eat grit and oyster shell to help develop the shells.”

Along with her chickens, Mrs Witt has a small herd of beef cattle and sheep, which she keeps to keep the grass low in the chicken fields.

“I grew up on a farm in Damerham and so farming is in my blood,” she said.

“It is a way of life.

“But in all these years of keeping chickens I have never seen eggs like these.”

Mrs Witt spends her days tending to the chickens, grading the eggs into small, medium and large, before delivering them to shops around the area.

If anyone would like to buy her eggs, they can be bought from Midgham Farm, Lomer Lane, Fordingbridge.