Egg shell color- why does it vary?

[sriston]

Just out of curiosity, why are some eggs dark brown and others a lighter brown? I love the deep, dark brown ones but sometimes I get one that is a medium-brown, and sometimes one that is very light brown. These are all coming from the same chicken, so I am curious as to what makes the color variation.

By the way, I am talking about shell color (which you probably guessed). My yolks are always a beautiful orange.

Susan

 

[Paganbird]

I don't know the answer to your question, but just thought i'd mention...
My hens eggs don't really variate in color. I can usually tell which hen laid which egg by the shape & color.
But if your sure it's the same hen... I don't know.

 

[cmom]

I can also tell MOL by the color of the shell who layed the egg.

 

[sriston]

I only have one hen laying, I know that for a fact. Some days her egg shells are a beautiful deep brown, some days they are a medium brown, and today she laid an egg that was a light brown with dark brown speckles throughout it.

She is 100% pastured, so I am guessing that what they eat somehow influences the egg shell color. I can't think of anything else that would. I searched for information on what influences egg shell color (other than breed and such) but didn't find anything.

Her yolk color has never varied- it is always a beautiful dark orange.

You would never guess these eggs are from the same chicken, but they are. LOL.

Susan

 

[Akane]

They don't normally vary that much day to day. Not much external stuff will change the color of the shell. Only the yolk. The only thing that might have an impact is stress since that may make an egg come out faster or slower which can result in more or less shell layers being put down which can change the shade. Overall though eggs should be similar color from day to day. They will lighten slowly as the chicken gets near molt and then darken again after molt. Sometimes an egg can have an extra calcium layer over it which makes it an odd shade. That's how people occasionally get "purple" eggs. If you wet these a little you'll see the actual color underneath the calcium layer. If none of that explains the color changes and you are getting such a wide variety I have to ask are you really sure you only have one hen laying? Do you have other hens and if so why don't you think they are laying?

 

[sriston]

I discovered that once the eggs start aging, they develop into the dark brown color.

When Hilda laid an egg, we always used it right away. It never sat for more than 5 minutes, LOL. With only one laying hen, her daily egg is really needed in this family of 6!

The past few days, I haven't needed an egg, so when I brought the egg in I simply put it in a basket on my counter. After sitting for a few hours, I noticed that the egg would darken in color. I haven't needed to use an egg for three days now, so three eggs have sat in my basket on the kitchen counter. Although they all were varying shades when laid, they are all now a deep, dark brown.

My curiosity has been satisfied. (For now.)

Susan