Took a few tries, but once she got it right ... WOW!

[ZooAtHome]

Technically, her fourth egg. First three were laid while roosting and cracked when they hit the coop floor. Two of them got stepped on and crushed. All three were tiny and really pale, almost white. One had a soft shell.
But this one was totally worth the wait. Perfect in every way!

And here is my pretty girl, Cinnamon. My first to lay.

 

[Kiki]

Congratulations!
I really like your rooster board.

 

[Willowspirit]

Technically, her fourth egg. First three were laid while roosting and cracked when they hit the coop floor. Two of them got stepped on and crushed. All three were tiny and really pale, almost white. One had a soft shell.
But this one was totally worth the wait. Perfect in every way!
View attachment 1883944

And here is my pretty girl, Cinnamon. My first to lay.
View attachment 1883954

Congratulations! I love your egg dish, too!

 

[chrissynemetz]

Yay eggs!!!
And that's a fabulous picture!

 

[ZooAtHome]

And another one today!

Interesting how the first egg (left) has darkened since laid (it was the same color as the one on the right when I collected it). I didn't realize they did that.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Yeah, I've even had hens add a slight speckling on occasion, at least until their paint-gun gets calibrated.

Brown laying breeds hold a brown pigment gene – and late in the laying process (anywhere from 4-6 hours from the end of the 26-hour egg laying process), the brown pigment dye is applied. That pigment only dyes the outside of the egg, leaving the inside of the egg shell white.

Brown pigment can vary largely too – the brown eggs can vary in color by season (lighter in the summer, and darker in the cooler months). The level of pigment always dissipates as the chicken grows in years – so an older hen will have a lighter shell over time.

 

[ZooAtHome]

Yeah, I've even had hens add a slight speckling on occasion, at least until their paint-gun gets calibrated.

Brown laying breeds hold a brown pigment gene – and late in the laying process (anywhere from 4-6 hours from the end of the 26-hour egg laying process), the brown pigment dye is applied. That pigment only dyes the outside of the egg, leaving the inside of the egg shell white.

Brown pigment can vary largely too – the brown eggs can vary in color by season (lighter in the summer, and darker in the cooler months). The level of pigment always dissipates as the chicken grows in years – so an older hen will have a lighter shell over time.

I understand how the brown pigment works, how it differs from blue and even how the brown over blue produces the green color. I just didn't realize that the brown pigment actually darkened after the egg was laid, changing the color a bit over time.

This is one of the many fascinating things I've learned since I started keeping chickens. It has been so educational!