Eggs changed colour after illness

[ChickenNic]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking for a while and find these forums to be an amazing source of info. But I now have a question I can't quite find an answer to, so here goes ...

We have two Isa Browns that are 7 months old. We got them at 14 weeks and the started laying around 19/20 weeks, both laid brown eggs. Just before New Year and after a big storm one of the chickens seemed unwell for a day and then recovered but stopped laying. A few days later she started laying again but they were white and sandpapery. The next few eggs got progressively smoother and a little darker but now seemed to have settled on a much paler colour than before.

The other chook didn't skip a beat and is still laying brown eggs.

Although both chooks seem to be well and contented and are both laying daily I was just concerned if there may be a deeper underlying problem. Has anybody experienced anything similar or does anyone have any ideas about what may be occuring.

thanks in advance

Nic

 

[lazy gardener]

The brown color is basically applied over a white egg to varying degrees which accounts for the wide variation in brown egg color. I'm guessing that the illness your chook had disrupted the glands that apply the color. You will note that as a chicken progresses through her laying cycle, that her eggs may get progressively lighter. Particularly noticeable with Marans.

 

[ChickenNic]

Thanks for that reply, that may explain things. I didn't know that eggs start out white either. So much to learn but fun trying