University of Michigan Professor Emeritus of Voice Lorna Haywood was mixing up a special treat for her dogs this week when she came across a surprising sight.

"I like to scramble up eggs for my miniature dachshunds once a week or so to mix in with their kibble," explains Haywood. "I opened up my box of jumbo chicken eggs and noticed that one of the eggs was cracked slightly, so I pried it open with my knife. Imagine my surprise when I found another, fully-formed egg inside my egg. I nearly fainted!"

Haywood brought the egg to her daughter Adrienne's house, where they did a quick internet search and determined that this isn't an ordinary occurrence. A post on New Zealand news site Stuff explains the phenomenon:

It was the first Sydney University poultry science professor Tom Scott had seen in his 30-year career.

He says a normal egg disturbed in the shell gland could move back up into the oviduct and start production all over again, resulting in an egg inside an egg.

Professor Haywood intends to keep the egg as a memento. "It's like one of those Russian doll puzzles! I'm curious to know if there's another egg inside the second egg, but I don't want to break it to find out."

Jessica Webster is on the Community team at AnnArbor.com. She recruits contributors for the site and leads the Food & Drink and Books sections. You can reach her at JessicaWebster@AnnArbor.com or 734-623-2574.