Mysterious blue egg

[NanaK]

My green egg layer's shell is blue on the inside.

This means the green egg has a blue base color and the green color is applied to a blue shell.

Most chicken eggs are white on the inside if the outside of the shell is brown or white. If the egg is blue it is blue all the way to the inside of the shell. If the egg is green like yours it is usually blue inside but green outside.

Maybe the bloom is missing sometimes. Will be interesting to see how this puzzle turns out

 

[aart]

I’ve never looked! Next time I crack one I’ll check it out

Best to peel the white inner membranes off the inside of shell immediately after breaking it open, will be easier to see the blue color of shell.

 

[NatJ]

green eggs of whatever shade are basically blue eggs with a brown bloom over the top. So if your olive egger laid an egg without a bloom, it would be blue-ish.

Right explanation, wrong word.

The brown coating is not called "bloom." The bloom (also called "cuticle") goes on after the brown coating. Bloom it is the slippery wet stuff that is on the egg when it is laid, that then dries and can look clear or white. The bloom comes off when you wash the eggs, which is why unwashed eggs can keep a bit better than washed eggs.

Yes, a brown coating on a blue egg is what makes a green egg. Sometimes a hen lays eggs without the brown coating, or with less brown than usual. That causes blue eggs (instead of green) and white or cream eggs (instead of brown.)

 

[Accidentalchickenmom314]

My green egg layer's shell is blue on the inside.

This means the green egg has a blue base color and the green color is applied to a blue shell.

Most chicken eggs are white on the inside if the outside of the shell is brown or white. If the egg is blue it is blue all the way to the inside of the shell. If the egg is green like yours it is usually blue inside but green outside.

Maybe the bloom is missing sometimes. Will be interesting to see how this puzzle turns out

I cracked a green egg this evening and sure enough it was blue inside! Mystery solved! Thank you everyone !!!

 

[Perris]

Here's a short and sweet article on it: Ball R.F., Logan V., Hill J.F. Factors Affecting the Cuticle of the Egg as Measured by Intensity of Staining
https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.0541479

 

[bethnlee]

Huh. I always thought that a hen laid a specific color of egg…mine do. Same color every time. My olive Egger lays an olive green, my Easter Eggers lay a pinkish brown (I have two and their eggs are slightly different in their “pink”). Never any variation in the colors I get. I am adding two Americuna that are supposed to lay blue eggs (just now being introduced to my older girls by the playpen method at 11 weeks…so beautifu!).

 

[NatJ]

Huh. I always thought that a hen laid a specific color of egg…mine do.

They mostly do.

But the amount of brown on the outside of the egg can vary a bit from day to day, and sometimes the brown coating gets skipped entirely. So a green egg can look darker green or lighter green or blue. A brown egg can look darker brown or lighter brown or even cream/white.

 

[Mantisquailman]

That was my thought as well. Are they not olive? That was the description that came to mind when Dolly first started laying and before I knew olive eggs were a thing.

That mysteries Blue egg sounds like a Easter egger. Are you sure the olive egg chicken is not a Easter egger.

 

[birdlady11]

I'm heavily betting that your olive egg and your blue egg came from the same hen. I have one (Puffy Cheeks) who lays anywhere from light to dark olive and light to almost aqua blue eggs. The blue shaded ones are less frequent than the olives for her. Puff is an Ameraucana mix.

So sit back and enjoy your rainbow!