Mystery Egg?!

[ChikenGeek]

Until recently I have been getting light blue, olive green, and varying shades of brown eggs. Then I've had two mystery white eggs show up. I was pretty sure all my hens were already laying and I don't have any white laying breeds that I'm aware of. Here a list.
- 1 Midnight Majesty Maran
- 3 Ameracauna
- 2 Starlight Green Egger
- 1 homebrew Buff Orphington x Easter Egger
- 2 RIR
- 2 Sapphire Splash
- 1 Barred Rock
Is there any reason a chicken's egg would lose color?

 

[CHlCKEN]

Blue eggs can appear white when a heavy bloom is deposited. Brown eggs too.

 

[CHlCKEN]

Wash them

 

[ChikenGeek]

Ok update. Tried to wash them and was being gentle, but one just cracked in my hand. Cracked the other to test shell hardness. Both had thin shells and were definitely white. All my chickens have good layer diet and free range daily. Could it be my older hen getting to the end of her egg laying?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is there any reason a chicken's egg would lose color?

Yes, and it doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong.

I don't know how long yours have been laying. The longer into the laying cycle the more the egg shade can lighten. A green egg may look almost blue. A brown egg can look almost white. The basic color won't change, like from blue to white, but I've had hens that normally lay a brown egg lay almost a white egg just before they molt. This is a slow gradual change, probably not what you are seeing. Sometimes it is so gradual you don't notice it until you do.

The egg stays in the shell gland for a long time with the hen adding a layer of shell material to the egg. This takes many hours. Then the last half hour or so the egg is in there is when the hen adds the brown coating. If something happens to cause the hen to lay the egg early the brown would not be applied. The egg would be white. If it is laid early enough it could be thin-shelled. What might cause her to lay the egg early? Some kind of disturbance, maybe a perceived predator threat or just flock excitement. Until your last post I thought this might be it but it would be unusual to get two eggs like this.

Both had thin shells and were definitely white. Could it be my older hen getting to the end of her egg laying?

How old and does she normally lay a brown egg? Older hens can develop egg laying issues. Not all do but it's not that unusual. Typically that would be at least 4 years and probably older. The number of eggs she lays also typically drops.

How long has it been since a molt? At the end of a hen's laying cycle (right before the molt) they can start laying strange eggs. This is different than the egg shells getting lighter. The egg quality can diminish. Their bodies wear out and they need to molt to refresh everything.

There are some diseases that can cause this. If the hens are acting normal and not acting sick and if it is only one hen laying weird eggs this is probably not the problem but I have to mention it. Pay attention to how they are acting and see if you start to get other weird eggs. Try to not get too excited about this unless you see other evidence. And see how consistent those white eggs are. If this goes away it is just a glitch.

 

[ChikenGeek]

How old and does she normally lay a brown egg?

The oldest one I have is about 3 this year. She is the Barred Rock, so yes brown.

How long has it been since a molt?

I don't recall her molting last year. She's had a rough winter. We had a dog attack in December and she was injured but survived.

if it is only one hen laying weird eggs this is probably not the problem but I have to mention it. Pay attention to how they are acting and see if you start to get other weird eggs.

I also noticed a couple weeks ago an egg with a soft shell like leathery and have had some other thin ones. But I'm not sure if they all were hers or not.

 

[DabblinDuckDabbler]

Similar question here. I’ve got an Americauna/Easter Egger who regularly delivers solidly olive green eggs, and a speckled Sussex whose eggs vary between light brown and cream. And then all of a sudden these light blue eggs (lowest left) show up:

(Natural light, white paper included for white balance, and cream colored Cayuga eggs from my Cayuga that didn’t get the charcoal memo..)

The line on the far left is the Sussex, showing her normal color range. The line next to it is the Easter Egger showing her usual eggs.

I have 6x four month old pullets that could come into lay any time now, but I don’t believe any are blue eggers:
2x white leghorn (oldest by a week or two)
1x Rhode Island White
1x Golden Comet
1x Black Star
1x Welsummer

and there is one backyard blend Australorp/Easter egger, but that one’s about a month old, so can’t count.

What’s your bet? Who’s laying Blue?

 

[aart]

The very basics of egg color:

There are only white and blue shells.

Brown eggs have brown coating on white shells.

Green eggs have brown coating on blue shells.

The brown coating can be very light or very dark, and can vary day to day.

Then the bloom can add another aspect to the egg color.

Pink/purplish eggs are usually from the bloom on a brown egg.