Duck Egg Off-Color. Help!

[torimelissa]

Our duck (Rouen) normally lays white eggs, however the last two eggs she's laid have been a yellowish-brown color. What's wrong?!

 

[Kaessa]

Our duck (Rouen) normally lays white eggs, however the last two eggs she's laid have been a yellowish-brown color. What's wrong?!

Those actually look like my ducks' normal eggs. How old is she?

 

[torimelissa]

She's two years old. The white egg is what her eggs usually look like, the two on the left are the ones that she's laid most recently. She's never laid a different colored egg in the past couple years until this week.

 

[Kaessa]

Has there been any change in her diet recently?

 

[torimelissa]

Two months ago we started adding a little fermented feed into her diet, but her eggs didn't change until the past couple days. She has been foraging and getting a lot more beetles recently because of the weather change though. Could the extra protein have done it?

 

[Kaessa]

Two months ago we started adding a little fermented feed into her diet, but her eggs didn't change until the past couple days. She has been foraging and getting a lot more beetles recently because of the weather change though. Could the extra protein have done it?

It's possible. Have you opened the eggs yet? If you scratch the surface, is it white just underneath? The beetles could have caused a color change in the bloom on her egg, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about. If the color is all the way through the shell, then it might be something else.

 

[casportpony]

Our duck (Rouen) normally lays white eggs, however the last two eggs she's laid have been a yellowish-brown color. What's wrong?!

I noticed that sometimes they get darker if they stay in the shell gland longer than usual.

-Kathy

 

[Kaessa]

I noticed that sometimes they get darker if they stay in the shell gland longer than usual.

-Kathy

What would cause that to happen?

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Maybe... got a picture of a pea egg that spent a week in the shell gland and it is way darker than the normal color.

-Kathy

 

[torimelissa]

Interesting! It's definitely not just the bloom, as I can't scratch the color off. I haven't cracked them open yet, however I will be tomorrow to see what the yolks look like.

Any reason they might be in shell gland too long?