I know this is a crazy question but..

[Pharm Girl]

Can a chicken switch what egg color she lays? I have three older hens that lay two brown eggs and one green egg. Then I have three younger pullets which lay one blue, one dark brown (Welsummer), and one basic brown (my feed store EE). I also have two even younger EE's that just started laying a few weeks ago and their eggs are still tiny olive green.
Let's do the math, that's:
3 that lay basic brown
3 that lay green
1 that lays blue
1 that lays chocolate brown

My oldest three ladies are in awful states of molting and I don't believe any of them are laying a thing right now. I am consistently getting 3 green eggs,one blue egg and a chocolate colored egg a day. Haven't seen a basic brown egg in weeks.

My confusion is the EE that lays basic brown eggs. I'm suddenly getting an extra green egg and haven't seen a single basic brown egg for weeks. She's not molting and was born March 2011. I KNOW she used to lay basic brown eggs, because I've watched her do it. I was so confused and disappointed my EE laid brown.

Is there any possible way her body switched from laying brown to green eggs? I don't know where this extra green egg is coming from and I'm sure my oldest EE is not laying right now. She doesn't squat any more and has lost her entire tail and half of her feathers.

I'm so confused!

 

[JakRat]

Hmmm that is interesting... not sure though! Have you googled it?

 

[Nonny]

I would think it's more plausible that an older moulting hen is laying the occasional egg, than a hen changing her egg colour.

 

[ChicKat]

I agree with both JakRat and Nonny-----

Be sure to post back when you finally have it figured out.

I have heard that brown layers run out of coating as they age....could the always brown egg from the older hen have been a green one with a brown coating (just guessing about possibilities here)---That would have required a green inner shell in the olden days when she laid brown.

 

[Pharm Girl]

Hmmm, still confused as ever. Getting 4 green/blue eggs a day. Haven't seen my older EE in the nests, but haven't seen my younger brown laying one in them either. Maybe one of the little ones is laying two a day. I do have one that is a leghorn/amer cross..Possible I guess.