Speckles part of bloom?

[taylacline]

Its a blue laced wyandotte that lays the speckled eggs. Um I don't have pictures currently but when I wash one I will. I use just 1/4 cup* in a large bowl of warm almost hot water.

Here's a couple pictures. You can see when I just lightly rinsed they are speckled. Then the one I rubbed a little harder with a cloth and some of the speckles and color came off. I only did in that one spot but that would happen if I did the whole egg. And then the last picture is the egg dry after just a quick rinse. Its like the speckles get covered up again? I'm just curious now to whats happening really.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Here's a couple pictures. You can see when I just lightly rinsed they are speckled. Then the one I rubbed a little harder with a cloth and some of the speckles and color came off. I only did in that one spot but that would happen if I did the whole egg. And then the last picture is the egg dry after just a quick rinse. Its like the speckles get covered up again? I'm just curious now to whats happening really.

So those must be being deposited similar to how a Marans deposits her super dark color. The egg is brown underneath, but then her super dark extra layer of pigment, deposited last, will wipe or scratch off fairly easily, so they can't be handled too much, or washed/scrubbed obviously, or they would completely lose that hallmark color.

That cloudy color change as the egg dries must have something to do with the precocity of the bloom / cuticle, where the outermost layer has like a chalky consistency when dry. I have some too where the speckles are super vibrant when wet, but as soon as it dries, it sort of clouds over again.

Even though we are just looking at an eggshell and see the "surface" there truly are several layers of different processes going on there. Pretty neat!

 

[taylacline]

So those must be being deposited similar to how a Marans deposits her super dark color. The egg is brown underneath, but then her extra super dark extra layer of pigment, deposited last, will wipe or scratch off fairly easily, so they can't be handled too much, or washed/scrubbed obviously, or they would completely lose that Hallmark color.

That cloudy color change as the egg dries must have something to do with the precocity of the bloom / cuticle, where the outermost layer has like a chalky consistency when dry. I have some too where the speckles are super vibrant when wet, but as soon as it dries, it sort of clouds over again.

Even though we are just looking at an eggshell and see the "surface" there truly are several layers of different processes going on there. Pretty neat!

It is pretty neat! Thank you for that great response

 

[catballou]

I didn't use vinegar, only very warm water, and I rinsed mine and rubbed pretty hard with my fingers. The dark terracotta bloom came off, and probably some of the finer speckles. But really mostly they didn't budge. Mine are Welsummers.

View attachment 3388299View attachment 3388300What breed are laying the speckles for you? Do you have pictures of the eggs? How much vinegar are you using? How hard are you scrubbing? So many questions...

Pictures are of two different eggs, one similar to the one I washed, just to show the color difference of the dark bloom that does rub off. The egg that remains has gone pale, but is still brown, and still speckled.

My calico princess lays a slightly speckled egg. At least I think it's her.