Different color eggs for same chicken?

[danielle805]

Hey all! So we have had as many as 10 chickens and as few as two, a week or so ago we were down to one (sadly one of our girls passed) so the next day we got a new barred rock hen who’s about a year old. So now we have two CHickens. My one hen i had left (a buff Orpington) had not laid an egg in almost a year. So two days after getting the new barred rock we had an egg (woohoo!) and the next day we had another egg (go getter!) and lo and behold they are two different colors. Is it possible my older hen started laying again or is it possible the new hen can lay different shades of brown eggs? And if my old one started laying again any idea why she would have stopped for so long? The older buff is about 3 years old and they are both on layer feed and get lots of garden goodies and oyster shell etc. they are free range and go in a coop at night. Thank you!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Layer feed is meant to be fed as the sole ration to actively laying hens. If you feed extras, or don't switch off it during times of molt hens can end up deficient in protein and it can affect laying. My buff Orpingtons routinely lay until 6 years of age or more. I feed an 18% all flock ration.

It can be hard to guess who laid which egg. Both barred rocks and buff Orpington lay about the same shade of brown eggs. Are you sure of the breeds of your hens?

Pigment can lighten or changed based on various factors.

 

[danielle805]

Layer feed is meant to be fed as the sole ration to actively laying hens. If you feed extras, or don't switch off it during times of molt hens can end up deficient in protein and it can affect laying. My buff Orpingtons routinely lay until 6 years of age or more. I feed an 18% all flock ration.

It can be hard to guess who laid which egg. Both barred rocks and buff Orpington lay about the same shade of brown eggs. Are you sure of the breeds of your hens?

Pigment can lighten or changed based on various factors.

Hi there! Yes i know the breeds for sure, i just thought my other girl was maybe done laying for the long haul but then noticed the pretty noticeable color difference in the eggs

 

[aart]

Is it possible my older hen started laying again or is it possible the new hen can lay different shades of brown eggs?

Yes it's possible. The brown color is a coating on a white shell, it can vary from day to day especially if bird is stressed, highly possible when bird is in a new environment.

Here how to tell.....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

Up until a few days ago I had only one layer in my flock, my only Easter Egger, laying mint-green eggs. Then I got a vibrant, dark blue-green egg. The rest of my flock are breeds that will never lay anything green/blue so I knew it was hers. I cracked it open and immediately saw it was a somewhat thin-shelled egg. We’ve had some high heat and an aggressive rooster that put the girls to roost at 4pm, peak heat time of day for us. I think she was heat stressed. That can cause variations in pigment deposited on an egg.
Here are all her eggs for that week.