Blue egg mystery

[kpramsey]

I have a mixed flock of various purebred hens. The gang includes one Ameraucana and one Olive Egger. I have several that have just begun laying eggs, and suddenly I am getting one olive egg and TWO blue eggs every day! From what i've read, it's not possible for Tilly to be laying twice a day, so now I have to figure out who the other sneaky blue egg-layer is! The only two I have that are not a single breed are black silkie crosses. Is it possible one of them is the culprit? I'm stumped!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Photos of your chickens would be helpful, photos of eggs too! The silkie cross could have blue/green egg genetics.

 

[kpramsey]

Photos of your chickens would be helpful, photos of eggs too! The silkie cross could have blue/green egg genetics.

Okay! Here's one of the two oddball chickens, both pretty identical. My Ameraucana lays the one on the right. It's close to a robin's egg blue (not sure what my camera did to the colors!). The one on the left is my old olive egger. Getting browner every year! The middle egg is the mystery--a little muddied, greener than the blue one, but definitely not truly green or olive. Any thoughts?

 

[ChloeSilkie08]

It could be a silkie easter egger. It is possible for a hen to lay 2 eggs a day but not very often.

 

[kpramsey]

Only one of the mystery girls is laying so far. I guess we'll see what pops out of the other one soon enough! I don't think they're both Tilly's (Ameraucana) doing, as it's happening several times a week. That would be a miracle chicken! Thanks for the ideas!

 

[MissMonty]

Are you sure the egg on the far left is the olive eggers? It seems super brown to me and the top one has a green hue to it so my first guess would have been the middle one being hers then the silkie could have laid the one on the left.

 

[kpramsey]

Pretty sure, yeah. Olive's eggs have gotten smaller and browner every year, but they're hers! Color is not good on these photos--clockwise from bottom left are an olive, a brown, a blue (Tilly), and a mystery greenish-blue. In person, there's a noticeable difference, I swear!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I believe your silkie cross is laying the mystery egg. She could very well have some ameraucana in her. She looks alot like my 2 olive egger/silkie crosses (still chicks).
She is very pretty and your eggs are gorgeous!

 

[kpramsey]

Hey, thanks for all your help on this! Yep, that's totally the same cross I've got going on! Adorable! Interestingly, the one who hadn't laid anything yet is now laying OLIVE eggs to compliment Harriet's greenish-blue eggs. I was surprised, because I was told the genetics of olive eggers is very different from the blue and green eggers. Any thoughts?

 

[aart]

Hey, thanks for all your help on this! Yep, that's totally the same cross I've got going on! Adorable! Interestingly, the one who hadn't laid anything yet is now laying OLIVE eggs to compliment Harriet's greenish-blue eggs. I was surprised, because I was told the genetics of olive eggers is very different from the blue and green eggers. Any thoughts?

If you cross a brown layer with a blue layer the female offspring will lay green eggs.
The darker the brown coating genetics are the darker green the egg will be.

Here's quick basic about shell color:
There are only white and blue shells.
Brown eggs have brown coating on white shells.
Green eggs have brown coating on blue shells.
The brown coating can be very light or very dark, and can vary day to day.
Then the bloom can add another aspect to the egg color.
Pink/purplish eggs are from the bloom on a brown egg.