Egg colors

[ourrune]

hello! I have a question about eggs changing colors and how dramatic the difference could possibly be. So I have 6 hens and I believe one is still just a pullet she’s a bit younger than my middle ones so I don’t think she’s laying yet. My older 3 haven’t been laying since we moved but I think one of them started again and she lays pink eggs. The middle two just began laying. One is a legbar that hatched from a green egg. The other hen is a mix which I guessed was an olive egger because I believe she is part amerucana and part maran from the background she came from her, her pea comb and her looks from chick to hen. She has the ear tuffs also. The first egg I started seeing was a darker brown egg some with speckles darker than my older hens ever laid. So I disappointingly assumed it was my olive egger. But then one Day I found that dark brown speckled egg and a blue one. So I thought my legbar was laying blue eggs. But now today I found green eggs! And no blue. I have a picture of the eggs and I think maybe the first egg that looks blue may have came from the green egg layer because it looks like it could be on cusp on maybe being green. But it is as blue as my EEs was when I had her. So my main question is could my blue egg layer have turned her eggs into a green color? I have two green , one blue and each one differs in color!
I can’t figure out which hen is laying what at this point anymore lol it used to be so easy. Thanks for any help in advanced!!!

 

[Kiki]

Can you list here the breeds you have and how many of each breed you have.

 

[ourrune]

Can you list here the breeds you have and how many of each breed you have.

Thank you for your reply!!! I have two speckled Sussex one salmon faverolle one legbar one “olive egger” and one mixed mut which I don’t think is laying yet she’s still a bit too young.

 

[deepbluesea]

I've only heard of eggs becoming lighter colored as time goes on, then darker after a molt when they've had time off. So, I'm not much help, but that's a beautiful batch of eggs!

 

[aart]

So my main question is could my blue egg layer have turned her eggs into a green color?

Yes.
There are only 2 shell colors, blue and white.
Green eggs are a blue shell with a brown coating,
brown eggs are white shell with a brown coating,
the coating can vary greatly overall, day to day, and/or be absent.

 

[ourrune]

Yes.
There are only 2 shell colors, blue and white.
Green eggs are a blue shell with a brown coating,
brown eggs are white shell with a brown coating,
the coating can vary greatly overall, day to day, and/or be absent.

Thank you for that perfect info! That helps a lot and answers my question.
I just saw the “olive egger” leave a warm brown egg behind so those are where they have been coming from. She did come from a brown egg after all. Boo boo. Lol so my legbar must have first laid a blue egg and now they’re green from coating. I wanted to achieve all colors but I recently lost my EE to a raccoon when I forgot to lock them up on night whom laid a blue egg everyday sometimes it seemed like she laid two a day if that’s possible lol she was awesome.

So out of curiosity if I wanted to make a chicken lay a certain color how do I make that happen? I first thought it depended on the rooster than I read recently it depends on the hens genetics. I have a legbar rooster whom has blue egg in his genes. Is it possible to have him mate with my legbar that lays green to get blue egg layer? Or have him mate with a chicken that lays white eggs?
Or if I wanted green eggs do I mate my rooster with a hen who lays brown eggs? Or do I need the hen to lay blue and the roo to have brown egg genes? I’m so very confused on how people make certain egg colors lol! TIA

 

[aart]

make a chicken lay a certain color

You can't 'make' them lay a certain color....but you can breed/cross birds that will.

Doubtful the legbars will produce offspring that lay blue rather than green.
Brown coating genes are pretty dominant(I think).
Many legbars lay greenish, it's a problem in certain lines.
Not sure about the legbar over a white layer.
I don't understand the genetics well enough to explain them.

But put that legbar cock over a brown layer and you should get green,
the darker the hens brown eggs the better the chance of olive rather than a lighter green.

 

[R2elk]

Not sure about the legbar over a white layer.

Blue is dominant over white. The Sapphire is an F1 generation cross of White Leghorn hens with a Cream Legbar rooster. If the Cream Legbar rooster has two blue egg genes and no brown egg genes, the Sapphires will lay a light blue egg. They also tend to lay larger eggs more frequently due to their White Leghorn genetics.