First maran egg this morning! It has a white coating that, when dipped in water, makes the egg a beautiful dark brown. I can scratch off the coating with my fingernails and reveal the brown underneath even when dry. Anyone know what this is? Thanks! Michael
I don't know if this would hold true with you as this is your first egg, but my girls tend to get a white coating on their eggs when they are stressed. For example, if I dust them for mites and trim their nails, I will often see a white coating for a few days and then it goes away. It seems they wear their emotions on their eggs! Not sure if that is why yours have the coating though.
Sounds like the cuticle. It's the protective coating on the egg. It allows the egg to pass through the hens vagina easier and helps seal some of the pores from bacteria that would harm an embryo. The cuticle is designed to protect the growing embryo against outside pathogens, but allow for gas exchange. It's a semi-permeable coating. Some hens, especially when just beginning, have more cuticle on their eggs than others. It's to help the hen lay the egg easier, especially being the first of hopefully many eggs. I believe some people describe the cuticle as the "bloom"?
I have one Marans that lays the type of egg you described every day. By the way, she is a good layer (just ugly egg!).
i get that sometimes, but its not a coating, there are just spots of it and when its wet, the spots turn brown. I always call them our magic speckled eggs lol. we dont get it that often anymore, but like you said, you can scratch it off
