Surprise white egg !

[Hammy79]

I collected my eggs this morning and to my supprise I had a white egg , this has not happened before . I have two bluebell hybrids (had them 2.5 years) two pure breed Rhode Island Red (had them just under 1.5 years) two pure breed welsummer's (1 year) and two pure breed cocko Marans (POL) so any ideas how I've got a white egg ?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. That's an interesting situation!

Check the ear lobes on your welsummers, one of them may actually be a brown leghorn instead. Welsummers will have red ear lobes, leghorns white. A leghorn would be slighter built with a larger comb than a welsummer, but otherwise they look very similar. That is the only possibility I can think of for a white egg, out of that flock, but why you haven't had one before now, if it is a leghorn, is a mystery. Do they free range. Leghorns can be pretty sneaky about where they lay in my experience. If it's not a leghorn, can you post a photo of the egg and your hens. Is it a proper white egg or just a lot of calcification on the outside of it?

 

[lazy gardener]

It's possible for an egg from a brown egg layer to pass by the "paint sprayer" before the "brown paint" gets applied.

 

[Hammy79]

Hi. That's an interesting situation!

Check the ear lobes on your welsummers, one of them may actually be a brown leghorn instead. Welsummers will have red ear lobes, leghorns white. A leghorn would be slighter built with a larger comb than a welsummer, but otherwise they look very similar. That is the only possibility I can think of for a white egg, out of that flock, but why you haven't had one before now, if it is a leghorn, is a mystery. Do they free range. Leghorns can be pretty sneaky about where they lay in my experience. If it's not a leghorn, can you post a photo of the egg and your hens. Is it a proper white egg or just a lot of calcification on the outside of it?

Hi thanks for the reply , the well summers are pure bred , my friend breads them and has a good name nationwide in the uk , I've even met there parents ! So I've decided to post pics below , look forward to your response

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

@lazy gardener has a good point. And the biggest possibility.

If I was going to suspect anybody other than that possibility it would be one of your "POL" instead of someone who's been laying for a while.

Awesome that your friend raises Welsumer. Light eggs would be culled for in that flock.

So when you say pure breed cuckoo Marans... are you talking from a hatchery? Can't see your pics yet.

But agreed white layers have white ear lobes.

 

[Hammy79]

 

[Hammy79]

Maranda will upload photo of egg next

 

[Hammy79]

my egg next to one of the bluebell eggs

 

[donrae]

my egg next to one of the bluebell eggs

Is this the egg in question? I'm seeing brown, not white.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

my egg next to one of the bluebell eggs

Are you calling that white?

Looks like light brown to me.

The cuckoos aren't known to lay as dark as the black coppers... but that's awfully big looking for it to be a pullet egg unless it is a multi yolker or your bluebell egg is smaller than I think. I'm not familiar with bluebells at all.

Probably just a spray booth error. Sometimes you can tell on the older hens if you know the shape is always the same but it's just a weird shade. It also helps sometimes if you know who lays where, to figure that kind of stuff out.

But if you compare it to say the white on the page where I am currently typing... that's definitely brown.

Many new layer won't have there spray booth completely worked out yet. That's why we wait for consistent laying before deciding if the color meets standard well enough to stay in the flock or not when breeding to that standard.

Your flock is pretty as are your eggs.