Egg colours?

[BUFFS]

Why is it that two sister chucks lay different shaded eggs?,and when you have four birds,only three will lay regularly, with one always late,but it doesnt always seem to be the same bird.

[di]

We always thought Dandelion & Marigold laid different shaded eggs to our Isa's...until they went broody & were moved to a different coop & we were still getting the odd different shades!
As for when they lay,although ours have mainly all finished by midmorning,we sometimes get a few later in the day,sometimes as late as 4pm.Seems to happen more in the winter?
Just a couple of the quirks of chooks!
Welcome to the Vine.

[Snadger]

I'm led to believe that egg colour is dictated by the chooks Father. The cockerel carries the egg colour gene............apparently!

[RichmondHens]

The pigment in the egg shell is laid down last, before it is laid. Different things can affect pigment, like weather, shock, diet. Every hen will have its own individual shape and colour of egg (if you know your hens well you will know which egg came out of which hen), and like human siblings may not have the same hair colour, sister hens may not necessarily lay the same shade of egg.

Also hens lay on a 25 hour cycle, so each hen will lay progressively later in the day, until they withhold an egg to be laid early the next morning instead.

[Suechooks]

They can get paler as the laying season progresses too - bit like the ink cartridge running out in your printer. Then when they come back into lay the darker colour starts again (refilled the cartridge!!)

[Bramble-Poultry]

lol - I love that analagy! sniggering to myself now....

[Glutton4...]

Can't we just fit 'em a new cartridge instead of having them go off lay?

[Suechooks]

Can't we just fit 'em a new cartridge instead of having them go off lay?

I think they do them in Tesco's! Could make for interesting egg colours!

[Bramble-Poultry]

I think you can only get chicken cartridges in red ink - at least thats the colour all those clever chickens mark the date on their eggs with when they lay them.

They must be very dextrous with the bum muscles to make the lion shaped logo too.....

[Glutton4...]

By the odd-shaped eggs I get from mine they're definitely dextrous LOL!

[Snadger]

Mine must have laser printers as they stay the same colour all year! Clever chooks evolving from inkjet to laser jet!

PS Could be worse it could be dot matrix!

[Suechooks]

I think you can only get chicken cartridges in red ink - at least thats the colour all those clever chickens mark the date on their eggs with when they lay them.

They must be very dextrous with the bum muscles to make the lion shaped logo too.....

[Bramble-Poultry]

Think we have a couple of dot matrix ones around here somewhere!

[lettucegrow!]

I know you've all lost the plot a bit on this link!! but getting back to it, that's really interesting and I hadn't heard or read this info.anywhere before.(and I've read a lot!!) Will be be watching for the pale eggs and looking where to refill!!