Whitish coating on brown eggs.

[Reurra]

My little girls are all grown up now and are laying!

The eggs are small still, but quite edible and quite tasty. However, Im not sure who is doing it, but one of the girls lays an eggs with a slight whitishness to it. All my girls are brown egg layers. This whitish color rubs off with water. What does it mean?

I recently went from one brand of layer feed to a 16% layer crumble. I like my results. the eggs are firmer and the girls seem to have more energy. Im also feeding them a Purina scratch with barley, oats, corn and I cant remember the last ingredient. Over all though the girls look healthy. Im just curious why one is laying white on the brown shell. it makes the egg look almost pink. Is it too much calcium?

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Remember they are new layers, it takes a few months for their bodies to get into the swing of things. It does sound like probably a little extra calcium or just a lot of "bloom". I wouldn't worry to much about it at this point. I have a Barred Rock that lays a light brown egg, my other BR lays a light brown egg with white specks all over it.

 

[Den in Penn]

Probably excess bloom. If it were calcium it would have been coated with pigment, as that is applied after the calcium is deposited to make the shell. It should just wipe off it is bloom.

 

[Reurra]

Yeah it wipes off with water. What is bloom? the shiny stuff on the egg when they lay it?

 

[Den in Penn]

The bloom is the coating that is applied to protect the egg from bacteria entering. If you can catch an egg as the hen lays it, it is wet and soon dries.