Speckled Eggs?

[Alabama ee]

They sometimes have spots.

Most of mine lay blue or blueish green eggs. However, I have one chicken that lays a light brown with purplish blue spots. She does not always do it. It is like sometimes her coloring machine has a missfire. I have another that lays brown with white spots. It just makes your egg basket more interesting.

 

[Dray67]

Quote:
I like have different breeds so i get a colorful mix of egg colors. I look for breeders in your area and check in to youth and 4H clubs. That is a wonderful coop! im green with envy.

 

[nes]

While I'm asking things...

There is a bag in the 'feed room' portion of the coop. It has a white substance in it I'm thinking is calcium?
The bag's writing is completely faded.
I can't imagine it's salt because there is grass around the coop, but I wanted to check before I throw it in the compost (there is a ton of rat poo in it! FUN!)
It does sort of look like salt.

Sorry I know that pic isn't too helpful, but it's the white bag on the ground.

I'm just reading around now, you can give them rhubarb for calcium? What parts of the plants are alright for chickens?
(we've got a load of them growing just outside the coop too

)

 

[stubbornhill]

Rhubarb is actually on the toxic list for chickens. So I would stay away from that. As far as the bag goes...if you're not sure what it is. I would dump it. It could be just about anything! Seems as though you are doing a great job making a nice home for your new chickens, it would be a shame to have any un-neccessary issues. You can purchase crushed oyster shells. That will help with the calcium deficiency that leads to the spots (if it looks like extra broken egg shell) on the eggs. Some people (including myself) take the empty egg shells, let them dry out, crush them, and give them back to the chickens all crushed up with veggie scraps, etc. This is another form of FREE calcium! Looks like you are doing a great job and your two hens are great looking. Enjoy them!

 

[JodyJo]

Beautiful girls....in great shape, and a wonderful coop! Rhubarb..never heard of it, but I am fairly new...I hope someone else can answer that for you. You need to get them some layer feed, scratch, as been the debate lately, is more of a treat, not a balanced meal...I am sure they would love some fresh fruit and vegies as well. I have a mixture of chicks, starting over this year after only having roos last year, Australorp and Barred Rock...I am excited to see the many varieties I will have in the yard and the many eggs! Good luck to you and whatever you choose will be lucky!

 

[nes]

subborn hill, that is exactly what it looks like, extra broken egg shell - so she is having a calcium issue?
We'll get on it right away

.

What does oyster shell look like? Would it be sort of shiny, sort of salt looking?
I don't want to give it to the chickens, I just want to know if it will kill my compost or not.
($ if I have to put it curb-side)

 

[stubbornhill]

The calcium deficiency and the stuff on the eggs is super common and not really anything to "worry about". I feed all of my girls the same thing and I have one Leghorn that has it on her eggs and the other Leghorn does not. None of my other girls to either. It isn't a sickness or anything that effects the inside of the egg. If you collect the eggs, sometimes, you can run water over them and actually scrape off a little of that with your fingernail and make it less noticable. The oyster shell and eggs shells will help though! And yes, you are right. The Oyster shell, will be hard some shiny peices, some dull. Won't hurt compost piles at all. In fact, good for the garden, mix it right in! It will litterally look like a sea shell that has been smashed up.

 

[stilldeb]

I have a mixed flock, and only my two D'Uccles lay white eggs with what I call white 'calcium deposits' on them. My son calls them "barnacles". The shells themselves are hard as rocks and all the chickens get an oyster shell/grit mix in a dish in their pen. With my girls, it seems to be just these two.

The eggs are 'interesting', but the girls are fine and so are their eggs.

What lovely chickens you got with your house!

(you'll be wanting more, of course)

deb g