Duck egg colours.

[Loopeend]

I found information on the precentages of what colour eggs duck from a certain colour reproduce.
We have only two females now that are laying. A big white on that allways laid big white eggs, and a small blue one that lays small blue eggs. We are quite sure it is this way; due to we can watch them lay their eggs (their coop is attached to our bedroom/livingroom window). Where the white one sits there is a white egg, and where the blue one sits a blue egg.

However a few weeks ago we saw an egg droppped out of the cloaca of our white female (the glass window thing) and it was a small blue one! :O

But now it gets more confusing; for 2-3 weeks now there are no white ones, only two-three blue small ones (the blue duck often lays two eggs a day).

So the question is; can a duck change the colour of it's eggs? And if not what is a logically explenation?

 

[BYCforlife]

I think one thing people are going to be asking is, are you sure the big white eggs weren't just extremely pale blue?

 

[Loopeend]

I think one thing people are going to be asking is, are you sure the big white eggs weren't just extremely pale blue?

They are really white and have a cream-yellow glow in them. Also the shell is a different structure. I guess I should check if I see those different structures now on the blue ones.

I added a picture.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

You may find this article interessting:
https://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/poultry/eggs-meat/how-genetics-determine-duck-egg-color/

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

And this one from the Runner Duck Club:
https://runnerduck.net/egg-colours.php

 

[Loopeend]

You may find this article interessting:
https://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/poultry/eggs-meat/how-genetics-determine-duck-egg-color/

This does not answer the question if the colour can change. On the picture where the first eggs by the way. The 'blue' ones back then were more grey and the first ones had black dust on them. They slowly became more blue then grey and a tad bigger when they became daily layers. The whites ones stayed the same.
If it is the case that all those big white ones for a whole year were just big pale blue eggs; why now so sudden back to small eggs?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

How old are your ducks? - When my girls started laying last year, they produced all kinds of different sizes and colors back and forth. But the egg color was never blue(ish), always between white, brownish and green. They have not started to lay yet.

 

[Pela Phillips]

I found information on the precentages of what colour eggs duck from a certain colour reproduce.
We have only two females now that are laying. A big white on that allways laid big white eggs, and a small blue one that lays small blue eggs. We are quite sure it is this way; due to we can watch them lay their eggs (their coop is attached to our bedroom/livingroom window). Where the white one sits there is a white egg, and where the blue one sits a blue egg.

However a few weeks ago we saw an egg droppped out of the cloaca of our white female (the glass window thing) and it was a small blue one! :O

But now it gets more confusing; for 2-3 weeks now there are no white ones, only two-three blue small ones (the blue duck often lays two eggs a day).

So the question is; can a duck change the colour of it's eggs? And if not what is a logically explenation?

My Cayugas have laid varying egg colors throughout the season. In the spring they start out having a black coating, then they are olive green, and by winter a paler green. My bufffs always lay cream colored eggs but the size varies.

 

[Loopeend]

They are shedding right now. So difference in the amount of eggs etc. is not weird. But going from big whites eggs the whole year, ánd then suddenly small blue ones? (that look exactly the same every day).

They are fine, the eggs taste nice; it's more that I am lost now who lays what eggs. If it is not possible to suddenly change the egg-shape and colour; maybe the grey one was laying the white eggs the whole time and she stopped laying? I have only seen the white one in need-to-/just-layed pose the last weeks, not the grey one. The grey one does have feelings to sit on eggs though, and we find her everytime sitting on some hidden blue eggs, but those might not be her eggs?

 

[Loopeend]

Okay, after investigating. I am sure now the both lay blue eggs around the same size. And the white one was the one laying white big eggs for over a year. But now apparently suddenly smaller blue ones.
She looks fine, so maybe I don´t know, did she just get in a sudden whole-different type of egg laying-life cycle or something.

I found an article that a coloured egg can turn up white with a 'too brief stay in the uterus during the final phase of shell creation' and that most of the time happened due to stress. I must say she allways has been incredibly scared of us (not raised well by former owner) and this recently drasticly changed for some reason (the glass coup next to our bedroom seemed to help a lot), the last weeks she is suddenly the most less scared. And she often left them just where she was standing instead of seeking a quite place to lay..
So who knows, maybe it is an combination of less stress and a new breeding cycle after the mating/molting-fase.