Can chickens egg color change?

[ChickenButtsRanch]

I purchased 3 ameraucana chickens last year. They started laying blue and green eggs. So I would estimate that I've regularly gotten these colored eggs for about 8 months now. A month or so ago I thought they stopped laying for some reason. Today I was lucky enough to watch one lay an egg. The egg was cream colored. So now I'm wondering if they are actually laying eggs, but are now a different color. Is it normal for a chickens egg color to change? I always thought that what ever color they lay is what it will always be. Is it something I'm doing wrong? Everyone told me before I started with chickens that it was easy to keep a flock, but my chickens have given me a run for my money since day one. I keep them fed, they have a large enclosed run for a semi free ranging feel (bad flying predator area), the always have plenty of fresh water, just always done everything I could to keep them happy. And keeping them laying has always been difficult. Now this egg color change has knocked me for a loop. I have a flock of 24 including 2 roosters. Currently getting 2 to 5 eggs daily.

 

[sourland]

Frequently egg color will lighten during the course of a laying cycle.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

Is the feed the same? I've noticed a difference if I cant get my good feed and settle for store brand. Are they getting enough calcium?

 

[ChickenButtsRanch]

Everything's the same. I have a feeder of calcium in the hen house and they get the crushed egg shells after I use the eggs. So they should have plenty of calcium.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Basic egg shell color will not change. The egg is either based on blue or based on white. That is determined by genetics. Genetics do not change. If you open an egg and look on the inside of the egg shell you can see what that base color is.

You get brown and green by laying a coating of brown over that base blue or white. The shade of brown can change. Typically the shade of brown stays about the same day to day, but you can occasionally get some pretty big changes from one day to the next. Those can be considered glitches or oops. Something just didn't work quite right that day. I feel we are all entitled to an occasional oops as long as we don't make a habit of it.

Over the course of the laying season you can get gradual changes. Typically when a pullet starts to lay or a hen starts laying after a molt brown eggs will be as dark as they will ever be. Green eggs will be as dark green as they will ever be. By the end of the laying season, just before the molt, some of my green egg layers are laying an almost blue egg. My dark brown egg layers might be laying a fairly light brown egg. This does not change the base color, that will either be blue or white.

The last thing a hen puts on the egg as she lays it is a layer we call bloom. It goes on wet but quickly dries. Most hens make bloom that is really clear but some can make bloom that can tint the egg a bit. That will not change a green egg to a brown or cream one.

@ChickenButtsRanch if you still have them try opening some of those eggs and look at the shell on the inside, you probably will need to remove a membrane to get a good look. You'll see what I'm talking about as far as base color. That will not change day to day or season to season.

Calcium has nothing to do with egg shell color. Adding more or feeding less will not change the color. The default egg shell color is white. If they have the blue egg gene the hen manufactures a blue dye from recycled dead red blood cells. Calcium has no effect on that.

 

[ChickenButtsRanch]

Basic egg shell color will not change. The egg is either based on blue or based on white. That is determined by genetics. Genetics do not change. If you open an egg and look on the inside of the egg shell you can see what that base color is.

You get brown and green by laying a coating of brown over that base blue or white. The shade of brown can change. Typically the shade of brown stays about the same day to day, but you can occasionally get some pretty big changes from one day to the next. Those can be considered glitches or oops. Something just didn't work quite right that day. I feel we are all entitled to an occasional oops as long as we don't make a habit of it.

Over the course of the laying season you can get gradual changes. Typically when a pullet starts to lay or a hen starts laying after a molt brown eggs will be as dark as they will ever be. Green eggs will be as dark green as they will ever be. By the end of the laying season, just before the molt, some of my green egg layers are laying an almost blue egg. My dark brown egg layers might be laying a fairly light brown egg. This does not change the base color, that will either be blue or white.

The last thing a hen puts on the egg as she lays it is a layer we call bloom. It goes on wet but quickly dries. Most hens make bloom that is really clear but some can make bloom that can tint the egg a bit. That will not change a green egg to a brown or cream one.

@ChickenButtsRanch if you still have them try opening some of those eggs and look at the shell on the inside, you probably will need to remove a membrane to get a good look. You'll see what I'm talking about as far as base color. That will not change day to day or season to season.

Calcium has nothing to do with egg shell color. Adding more or feeding less will not change the color. The default egg shell color is white. If they have the blue egg gene the hen manufactures a blue dye from recycled dead red blood cells. Calcium has no effect on that.

I took a picture of the egg, then opened it and checked in inside. That is cream as well. No blue at all like it used to be. I've been waiting for a moult to start as our seasons are finally starting to change. Wish I had a picture of what her egg looked like. It was a light sky blue outside and slightly darker on the inside.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Did you pull the membrane free from the inside? Still, that is not a blue or green egg, base white.

 

[ChickenButtsRanch]

I took a picture of the egg, then opened it and checked in inside. That is cream as well. No blue at all like it used to be. I've been waiting for a moult to start as our seasons are finally starting to change. Wish I had a picture of what her egg looked like. It was a light sky blue outside and slightly darker on the inside.

Yes, pulled the membrane away it's the same color to slightly lighter than the outer shell. I'm just completely dumbfounded! Like I said before I figured they had stopped laying for whatever reason and to catch her laying the egg was shocking. And I actually watched her push it out, no other eggs in the nest to confuse it with. And probably a dumb question but with let's say 18 to 20 laying hens how many eggs would you expect daily?

 

[aart]

And I actually watched her push it out, no other eggs in the nest to confuse it with.

Had you actually seen that bird push out a blue/green egg before?

 

[ChickenButtsRanch]

No, my ameraucanas have always been too skiddish, I happened upon the coop at just the right moment to see this today. That moment when they are pushing to get it out and can't high tail it out. But I know she is one of my blue layers. I only have 3 ameraucanas. 2 lay blue 1 lays green. The green one prefers to lay in the secondary coop, the other 2 prefer the main coop. When they were laying I was getting 2 blue and 1 green about every other day.