Why are my white chickens laying brown eggs ?

[larcie]

Very odd, I have no idea whats going on then. The small light brown eggs are the right size to be my sumatras but the wrong colour, I have 8 hens and I'm getting 8 eggs a day but no sign of the tiny white ones she normally lays.IIt's not just a slight change in shade, it's much darker and the brown won't wash or scrape off. How odd.

 

[sharronExum]

If the have Red ears they Lay Brown eggs

 

[chickengeorgeto]

It's not the color of their feathers that dictates the color of the egg, but the color of their ears. Red ears lay brown eggs, white ears lay white eggs.

Note this flock of white egg laying Brown Leghorns. It is not the color of the fuzz covering the ear opening that you go by, but rather the color of the ear lobe. The clabbered color of the roosters ear lobes stands out very well even though he has never laid the first egg.

 

[RDBUBLSK1]

Someone once told me that if the chicken is happy she lays brown eggs and if not happy lay white eggs. The question I have for you is whether the same chicken ha sever laid white and brown eggs??

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Someone once told me that if the chicken is happy she lays brown eggs and if not happy lay white eggs. The question I have for you is whether the same chicken ha sever laid white and brown eggs??

Nope. Never. Whoever told you that is very, very, very wrong.

 

[ColoradoNovelist]

It's not the color of their feathers that dictates the color of the egg, but the color of their ears. Red ears lay brown eggs, white ears lay white eggs.

I have white hens with white ears and they lay brown eggs. I'm betting on genetics. White Wyandotte.

 

[ColoradoNovelist]

It's not the color of their feathers that dictates the color of the egg, but the color of their ears. Red ears lay brown eggs, white ears lay white eggs.

This white hen in the picture has white ears and lays brown eggs. There are several white breeds that lay brown eggs, including White Wyandotte, White Jersey Giant, White Orpington, White Plymouth Rock, White Frizzles, and Rhode Island White. I believe the brown egg comes from the genetics of the breed, regardless of ear color. Because many common white chickens have white ears and lay white eggs might lead one to believe it correlates to egg color, but that is not the case with this hen in the picture.

 

[Pghelp]

I’m following this conversation because I have a hen who looks exactly like this white one and I still have no idea what breed she is. As a chick she had a brown head (I assume some sex linked characteristic) and green legs which led me to think she was some kind of Easter Egger. She lays light brown eggs and has been an excellent broody mom. She was part of a hatchery collection of heritage breeds and I’ve been trying for 2 years to figure out what she is. Any ideas?

Oh, she also has a rather raucous voice for egg song and demands to be cuddled.

 

[NatJ]

I’m following this conversation because I have a hen who looks exactly like this white one and I still have no idea what breed she is. As a chick she had a brown head (I assume some sex linked characteristic) and green legs which led me to think she was some kind of Easter Egger. She lays light brown eggs and has been an excellent broody mom. She was part of a hatchery collection of heritage breeds and I’ve been trying for 2 years to figure out what she is. Any ideas?

Oh, she also has a rather raucous voice for egg song and demands to be cuddled.

I suggest you start a new thread in the section "What Breed Or Gender is This?"
Put the information and picture there, and there's a good chance someone can help you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/what-breed-or-gender-is-this.15/

 

[Pghelp]

I suggest you start a new thread in the section "What Breed Or Gender is This?"
Put the information and picture there, and there's a good chance someone can help you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/what-breed-or-gender-is-this.15/

Yes, I did that when she was younger. I thought it worthwhile to tag along here since the hens look so similar. Before I got some wild and crazy guesses and no confirmation of what she might be.