Egg color

[Dooner]

I am a newbie. I am reading what i can and it sounds like egg shell color is related to the chicken breed and not what they eat, right? Will the color vary from day to day or will it vary in shade related to what they eat? I have what you all have taught me are three production chickens from a hatchery in Beaver Dam, Wwisconsin and they said they are a De Kalb breed. I have received 2-3 eggs a day from the 3, usually 3. I am going to guess they are a black sex link. I have attached a picture if you wish to comment. Note how one is a totally different color. Should i expect that her eggs may differ from the other? Note the spots on some of the eggs, is this due to anything?

Just realized thatI can't post pictures cuz Inam still a newbie.

 

[BeccaOH]

You're right. Egg shell color is related to the breed and genetic makeup of a chicken and not what they eat -- though what they eat can effect the yolk coloring to some extent.

I assume you are getting brown eggs in varying shades. Most likely from a production type chicken that shade of egg will remain fairly constant throughout the chicken's production cycle. The spots on the eggs that can either be white (like calcium deposits) or dark brown (like pigment concentrations) -- again depending usually on the breed -- are affected by the hens internal laying organs. If a hen lays a spotted egg, then she'll probably always lay a rather similar egg.

But rough, brittle egg shells can be a sign of lacking nutrition or sickness.

 

[Dooner]

I think i figured out how to post a picture using photobucket. Here is the picture os the eggs: