Why is my Hen laying this color egg?

[Liz Birdlover]

The lighter brown is the base color I think. And the dark splotches are more what I thought were excess… something.

Sometimes one of mine lays like this. When I wash & crate eggs for market, the darker color washes off. I thought it must be something with her bloom but I really don't know.

 

[CloneFly]

I have a variety of hens laying a variety of colors. Sometimes, they look speckled or mottled, and it is the medium to dark brown ones that will once in awhile have a discoloration effect. As I gently wash & crate eggs for market, most times those few speckled or color variations will come right off. I really don't know if it might be during the last coat of egg shell formation, or if it might be related to the hen's bloom. Yesterday morning, I got a really interesting looking egg...like my hen was trying to copy a marble design. Like yours, my hens all eat a well balanced diet & are happy & healthy, so it is a mystery to me, but as long as the hens are healthy & the eggs are awesome, I'm not worried about it. Here are a few pics. You see the 1 marble looking egg I'm holding?

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Beautiful color collection!!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I responded earlier but now have something to add. One of my Marans laid eggs like OP's for several days in a row. To describr one, it looked like a landscape painting, with areas that were much darker than others in erratic patterns, reminiscent of mountain ranges. Sorry I took no pictures. It did seem as though pigment had been laid on unevenly somehow. The interior of the eggs were unaffected and the hen appears perfectly healthy and normal. She is two years old.

 

[LaFleche]

Some of my Marans crosses lay beautiful olive eggs with a darker coating that looks similar to the OP's eggs.
Nothing wrong with them, just the individual bloom.

 

[aart]

It's just an 'oddity' not necessarily something 'wrong'.
Darker coatings often come out like this, it can be occasionally or consistently, I've had both here.
Doesn't matter if it's a white shell base or a blue shell base(like the OP's).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have a theory about this but it is very much in the realm of creative thinking and speculation, possibly even fantasy, definitely not science and please keep in mind that I have a kooky sense of humor. Here it is. I think maybe when the dark brown coating is being applied to the egg, PERHAPS the hen was running, or rolling around in the dust bath, causing the coating to be laid down erratically. That's my proposal for why this happens. Maybe.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I have a theory about this but it is very much in the realm of creative thinking and speculation, possibly even fantasy, definitely not science and please keep in mind that I have a kooky sense of humor. Here it is. I think maybe when the dark brown coating is being applied to the egg, PERHAPS the hen was running, or rolling around in the dust bath, causing the coating to be laid down erratically. That's my proposal for why this happens. Maybe.

I have an odd sense of humor at times, too.

Ya never know right? Hey dust travels...just check out anything about the dust bowl & how those people could never keep dust from getting into every crevice of their homes, in drawers, closets, underwear, you name it. I think only Tupperware would keep dust out. Maybe while Henny dustbathes, some dust is getting into her coochie, then getting stuck to the egg by the bloom. I'm laughing as I write this, but really, who knows?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have an odd sense of humor at times, too.

Ya never know right? Hey dust travels...just check out anything about the dust bowl & how those people could never keep dust from getting into every crevice of their homes, in drawers, closets, underwear, you name it. I think only Tupperware would keep dust out. Maybe while Henny dustbathes, some dust is getting into her coochie, then getting stuck to the egg by the bloom. I'm laughing as I write this, but really, who knows?

Oof, I do battle daily with dust and pollen, it gets EVERYWHERE so I'll testify, I think your proposal has merit!

 

[BDutch]

Calcium issues is what I thought at first. But she eats the same as all the others and there are no other problem eggs.

If there are problems with Ca with just one hen (too little - too much) it’s often not the feed but something within the chicken. The strange Ca deposits or very thin shells can be caused by a former disturbance, bullying (stress), a disease or infection.

Sometimes its back to normal again after a moult.

 

[Shipgirl]

If there are problems with Ca with just one hen (too little - too much) it’s often not the feed but something within the chicken. The strange Ca deposits or very thin shells can be caused by a former disturbance, bullying (stress), a disease or infection.

Sometimes its back to normal again after a moult.

I hatched her chick. Wondering if her pullet last the same or now. She’s 9weeks old now. Just a waiting game