BC Marans laying lighter brown eggs?

[Jewelmb]

Our French black copper Marans, Belle, stopped laying, (or so we thought), however I discovered her in the nesting box for almost 2 hours the other day. The result was a lighter brown egg. This egg of course could have belonged to a couple of our other girls. Do the Marans eggs get lighter as the chicken ages? Belle is
2 1/2 years old.

 

[sourland]

As a hen gets further into a laying cycle frequently her eggs will become lighter. If she has been laying for a long time without a break, this is not unusual.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree. It is not that the hen is getting older but that she is getting later in her laying cycle. A pretty normal pattern is that the longer a brown egg laying hen lays the lighter her egg becomes. The same thing can happen to a green egg laying hen also since the green comes from brown laid on top of blue.

The normal cycle is that the hen lays a dark egg when she starts laying. The longer she lays the lighter the egg becomes. Then she stops laying, molts, and recharges her system. When she starts laying again the eggs are as dark as they will ever be.

 

[Jewelmb]

Thank you for your replies! After 10 years of chicken rearing, I am still learning.