Got my first egg today from my 'Australorp' but it's white???

[CountryLife4Me]

I am so excited that I got my very first egg today from the chickens that I raised! I saw my 7 month old Black Australorp go into the nest box a little while ago. My rooster followed her in and stayed with her, which is unusual because he never leaves his flock. I was so hoping she was going to finally lay an egg (the wait has seemed so LONG!), so I decided to sit it out and see what happened. Sure enough, about an hour later, they both came out announcing it to the world that she laid her first egg! I immediately collected it and was surprised to find a white egg with blood on it. So now I'm wondering..... can brown egg layers start out laying white eggs and is it normal for the first egg to be bloody? TIA!



ETA: I have done some research and am now wondering if I actually have an Australorp. See post # 5.

 

[1muttsfan]

That is actually a brown (very light) egg, and the blood is not unusual for a pullet just starting to lay.

 

[canada-goose]

Strange eggs at first are pretty normal. Odd colors/funny shapes/soft shells. The blood is a bit more worrying, but I'd guess it's not a big problem, and will stop happening pretty quickly.

 

[Y N dottes]

That is actually a brown (very light) egg, and the blood is not unusual for a pullet just starting to lay.

Agreed, just a very light brown egg that makes it seem like a white egg. actually, when the egg is inside a hen the egg shell starts off as white, but then pigment is added before it is laid. As her system is still new to the egg laying business, it will take a few times before everything starts becoming more 'automatic'.

 

[CountryLife4Me]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm not really worried about the blood now. I'll keep an eye on her and see how it looks today.

As for the color of the egg.... maybe it didn't show well in the photo I posted, but it was definitely white. Pure white. So I did some research and now I am wondering if I even have an Australorp after all! I bought her when she was 5 months old from a local 'breeder' and I was told she was an Australorp. After looking at photos on the web, now I'm wondering if she is actually a Minorca or Black Leghorn. Any idea?

 

[ckickenlov101]

I think you have a black leghorn. Notice how chickens that have white earlobes lay white eggs and chickens that lay brown eggs have red earlobes. It is usual for blood to be on the eggs when they first start laying. The eggs also might be long or have a very thin shell or not have a shell at all.

 

[rc4u]

BA's have more upright tail and not that long on the hens...i agree with black leghorn

 

[Y N dottes]

definitely not an Australorp. my guess would also be black leghorn

 

[CountryLife4Me]

Wow! I'm surprised that everyone is leaning towards Leghorn since she has dark grey legs. I thought Black Leghorns have yellow legs????

 

[Renee572]

I'd say not an australorp... White earlobes does mean white eggs. Here's a pic of my BA