Can egg color vary day-to-day?

[Leeloo7]

Hi everyone! I have an egg mystery I’d love your advice on! We finally got our first eggs this past week (yay!) and I am pretty sure it’s our olive egger laying the eggs as she’s the only one that we’ve noticed going in the nesting boxes. It looks like she’s not a green egg layer (which I know can happen with OEs) but what is interesting is the egg color drastically changed this morning and the OE was the only one hanging out in the coop this morning! We’ve been getting pale tan eggs and then today, we got a darker speckled brown egg. So my question is, could the same chicken lay eggs that vary in color to this degree or do we have another chicken laying too that we just aren’t seeing in the coop? We haven’t had two eggs in one day yet, just one each morning. I am thinking our Orpington might be laying the lighter colored egg but I haven’t seen her hanging in the nesting boxes yet. Here’s a pic of our OE too for reference (I’m curious to know what cross our OE is now that we have an idea of what her eggs look like ).

 

[HappyClucker7]

Your OE looks more like a black copper marans to me (she even has feathered legs), so that would explain the dark brown eggs. I think someone else might have laid the lighter colored ones.
You can check the distance between their pelvic bones to see who is laying. This article will explain how to do that: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[Aapomp831]

It is absolutely a thing, that eggs can change color throughout the week. Sometimes you can start the week with dark eggs, and they get lighter throughout the week as the hen uses up the pigmentation.

 

[Aapomp831]

https://www.mypetchicken.com/backya...n-eggs-become-brown-instead-of-white-H44.aspx

 

[Zeeb]

Yes first thing I thought it could be a Black Marans mix, my Marans lay different shades of brown throughout the week. Sometimes get spotted eggs

 

[Aapomp831]

Your OE looks more like a black copper marans to me (she even has feathered legs), so that would explain the dark brown eggs. I think someone else might have laid the lighter colored ones.
You can check the distance between their pelvic bones to see who is laying. This article will explain how to do that: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

Where do you see feathers on that birds feet or legs???

 

[aart]

I am pretty sure it’s our olive egger laying the eggs as she’s the only one that we’ve noticed going in the nesting boxes.

Where did you get your birds?
ETA: those look like they are from 2 different birds.
You'll probably have to actually catch them in the act to know for sure, but:
Here's some tips on how to tell.....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

It is absolutely a thing, that eggs can change color throughout the week. Sometimes you can start the week with dark eggs, and they get lighter throughout the week as the hen uses up the pigmentation.

Usually coating pigment lightens of the course of the season, not just a week.
Tho it can, especially the darker ones, can vary from day to day.

 

[Callender Girl]

While I would suspect two girls are laying, it is possible for shell color to vary considerably. The most obvious in my flocks is a runner duck who lays a pale green egg most of the time but will occasionally lay an egg so deeply green it looks fake. My Welsummer, who usually lays a deeper brown egg, has recently started laying ombres -- dark on one end and pretty light on the other.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Where do you see feathers on that birds feet or legs???

 

[Leeloo7]

Where did you get your birds?
ETA: those look like they are from 2 different birds.
You'll probably have to actually catch them in the act to know for sure, but:
Here's some tips on how to tell.....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

Usually coating pigment lightens of the course of the season, not just a week.
Tho it can, especially the darker ones, can vary from day to day.

I got her from a local feed store. I’m not sure which hatchery they use but since she has a pea comb and what I thought was the typical look of an OE, I never questioned if she was actually an OE.

Thank you everyone for your feedback too! These are the last two eggs she’s laid so this girl is all over the place with her egg coloring! Our BR just started laying too but her eggs tend to be more pink than what I’ve posted here.

Good eye on seeing the small feathers on her legs too, @HappyClucker7! They are just tiny patches of feathers so it’s easy to miss. She has a pea comb so I always assumed she was a BCM mix and would definitely be a good candidate for green eggs but as you see, there’s no hint of green to be found on this girl’s eggs.