Strange looking Marans egg

[newTexan2chickens]

I collected eggs the other day and one of the French Black Copper Marans eggs was weird- like it had a film on it. I thought at first it was a weird BR egg but when I wiped it off it was obviously a Marans egg. After drying though it took on the previous white film across it which disappears with moisture and returns when dry. Any ideas? It changes color even from being held in your hand (I am guessing the moisture from the skin). This is the first one I have gotten like that.

Picture shows normal marans egg on left, weird marans egg in center and BR egg on right for color comparison

Same eggs but after the weird egg was damp

Hens get layer, free range and access to oyster shell. The shell looks fine otherwise- not soft or malformed.

Thanks!

 

[math ace]

I am guessing that it is heat related . . . .

I have marans too and would be interested in hearing tohers thoughts on this.

 

[slackwater]

I dunno...but someone that I got Marans from had one hen that did the same thing. The eggs almost appeared purple, and she called them dinosaur eggs.

 

[chicmom]

I've gotten a few eggs like that too...it's almost like a residue....it doesn't look pretty, and it doesn't wash off....filmy. I wish I knew what it was......I don't get eggs with that all the time....just periodically.

 

[gallusdomesticus]

I bellieve you're looking at a freshly laid egg. All of them have that wet look when first laid. The outer coating of the shell itself consists of a mucous coating called the cuticle or bloom which is deposited on the shell just prior to lay. This protein like covering helps protect the interior contents of the egg from bacteria penetration through the shell. This bloom dries very quickly and is the reason that washing an egg actually decreases it's shelf life.

If an egg has a chalky or greyish appearance, it may be from an older hen that kept her egg in her uterus (shell gland) for a longer period of time and deposited an extra layer of calcium on the surface.

Here's some info from the Univ of Indiana on egg shell quality issues:

http://tinyurl.com/2fewk78

 

[peachychick]

Sometimes its a film of calcium. If a hen "misses" the nest box and hits the floor they do this sometimes too. Maybe the ammonia in the droppings?