Chicken eggs from the absurd to the sublime

VickiP

We had a severe cold spell a couple of weeks ago and my hens quit laying altogether during that time. Since then we have had beautiful warm, sunny weather so they started up again. Here is a picture of some of them.

Apparently one thinks she is still a pullet.

SuperC

@VickiP Your chicks must be very happy. I have a question: What does it mean when a hen lays a solid white egg?

ltwickey

Lovely!! Always nice to see the eggs coming again after cold snaps!!! I find these eggs a new expression of "art" every day! Never know what colors/designs are going to appear!!

LaurieLovesLearning

@SuperC If a chicken lays a white egg, it is a breed trait and it will only lay white. If it is a colored layer, sometimes various stresses or just the time in their laying cycle can lighten the shade that the breed is known for, but I have never heard of one going fully white.

The egg color is built in throughout the shell. The only one that lays pigment down on top of the white shell is the marans. You can scratch that color off.

@VickiP We love those small eggs. My kids like the term "fart eggs". We joke that they are barbie sized eggs especially if it has a tiny yolk inside.

SuperC

@LaurieLovesLearning Here’s the eggshell-less solid white egg, more like a rock that was laid with the rest of her eggs at least two years back now. Seen here, It’s among these beautiful eggs so you all can visualize the difference.

Monek Marie

I just love a carton full of colored eggs.

I took some to a friends once who had never seen colored eggs. Her husband had not either, so he accused her of coloring them!

LaurieLovesLearning

@SuperC Was the egg rough? It looks rough. To me that looks like it could be excess calcium. We have had some with that issue, but never with that much.

Here are a couple of interesting links about eggshell abnormalities.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lumpy-eggs-too-much-calcium.37327/

https://www.communitychickens.com/egg-shell-problems-causes-and-cures/

MaryRowe

I once shared a carton of brown and blue eggs with some city friends, I didn't think to warn them about the colors; it didn't occur to me that they had never seen anything but white eggs. Next time I saw my colleague he tentatively broached the subject of the colored egg shells, desperately trying to find some way to ask the question without sounding dumb....,He admitted the eggs caused quite a debate in their house. His teenage daughter was convinced that either I had dyed them for some reason, or there had to be something really wrong with them. His wife, on the other hand, took the position that the colors were probably natural, and the white eggs they'd been buying all along were probably bleached for the market.....

Monek Marie

Colored eggs are so pretty when dyed. We have used ferns and leaves to make imprints.

Its amazing what some people think but when you're not exposed to such things and its not taught in schools.

My Aunt thought chocolate milk came from brown cows. I had her stumped when I asked her what color milk came from spotted black and white cows

marjstratton

My neighbor's chickens lay small eggs to start off with, then as the chickens get older, their eggs get bigger.

SuperC

@Denise Grant I will try the ferns to make imprints on eggs when my mom and I color them for Easter.

@LaurieLovesLearning yes, it has a rough-like surface on one side and the other side of the egg is smooth. And, thank you for posting the articles! They are Guinea Hens and are given food scrapes insead of being placed into a compost pile. They are so happy, and there are many of them actually, hens, not solid eggs.

A quote from the 2nd article I found a bit amusing, “Calcium deposits can take the form of hardened masses or fine, sand-like particles that can easily be brushed off. Calcium deposits can often be attributed to a disturbance during the shell calcification while in the oviduct. Common disturbances include a predator, loud thunderstorms, or a bully hen. While it’s possible that excess calcium in the diet could be a factor, it’s not as common. As with many other shell abnormalities, a defective shell gland (uterus) could also be the cause.”

The farm is In Wisconsin and there are many loud noises, thunderstorms, and German Long-hair cows (very beautiful animals with their golden hair). There are loose cats and dogs and an occasional horse about the farm. They are well protected yet when other fauna gets hungry, well, as some people say a third percent may get lost.

LaurieLovesLearning

@SuperC Do you mean Scottish Highland? There are no German developed breeds, longhaired or otherwise. Scottish Highland is the only long haired breed of domestic cattle that I am aware of. They can be red, black, dun and white. Galloway are curly in the winter. They also come in various colors.

https://www.iamcountryside.com/cattle/raising-highland-cattle-for-beef/?utm_source=Countryside+Master&utm_campaign=ac0f97a2d6-LV+8-11-20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_90c3e5631e-ac0f97a2d6-73385599

I was curious to find this German breed that I hadn't heard about, so I did a search. I found a site that put "German" in front of all sorts of cattle breeds no matter their origin. This company is based out of Germany, thus why I think they are placing their country before the regular cattle names (which is still strange & misleading). I think they want to track where the company's particular genetics go, so market them as German, when they truly are not anything extra special. They ship worldwide.

Many hatcheries will use a similar tactic, creating "new breeds" for sales, when they are not really a true breed, but a hybrid. This keeps interest in their particular stock & really, dazzles customers into thinking that they have a new breed on the cutting edge and it results in greater sales, at least for the first year or two. Sometimes their hatchery name is in it, but most often it is a tweaked name of a breed or fully made up.

The Araucanas are one that was messed with. The Araucana is a rumpless bird that lays only blue eggs, and has tufts (both important characteristics), but it has a lethal gene. This is connected genetically to the appearance of tufts. The Ameraucana was developed to try to get a bird that laid blue only but did not have the lethal gene. Then the hatcheries wanted to imitate this (because blue eggs would sell well) but the Araucana were not easy to hatch successfully. So they crossed some birds, but used varied stock that was less expensive. This is where the Americana came from, and they lay both blue and green eggs. These are always hatchery stock in origin. I just read that these green eggs are being marketed in Europe as healthier eggs, much like some do that with brown eggs in North America.

http://www.araucanabreeder.freeservers.com/photo4.html

Of course, then, there is the Whiting true blue, freedom rangers, "___" browns (the ISA Brown is itself a hybrid that many hatcheries make knockoffs of), and other hybrids that are invented by the hatcheries and sold as breeds. A breed is pure, is traceable from its start, has a long history, and is accepted into the standards, whereas a hybrid is crossed and does not have the same status.

VickiP

@MaryRowe I had a friend years ago that had some Easter Eggers and she sold eggs to another friend of mine from the city. City friend called in a huff because the eggs were "rotten!" I inquired how so? and she replied "They are all GREEN!!" I had a time getting her to believe that is what they were supposed to look like.

lewis.mary.e

We got a tiny egg today. Our chickens are about a year old, but one of them has been molting so we assume she is the one who laid it. It is so cute. :)

VickiP

I haven't cracked this one yet, still want to show it to my youngest grand child, but I have read, if it is empty they are called fairy eggs.

dipat2005

We had 1 white chicken and many anacondas' which produced green colored eggs. The eggs tasted fresh (which they were) and the yolks were all darker in color.

dipat2005

Did you know you could hypnotize a chicken. It is fairly simple. Just lay the chicken flat on its back and stroke the throat. It doesn't take long.

frogvalley

Fairy Eggs @VickiP? I've never heard of that. I've also never seen an empty egg. I'll be looking now.

VickiP

Update on tiny egg. My grand child came over and really wanted to open it. We took it outside, just in case it was smelly. It was a perfect tiny egg! The yoke was about the size of a pea, cutest thing ever. My dog ate it.