Who laid this? 🐔

[2DogsFarm]

I keep finding these eggs:
(speckled one on the end)

My small flock (now 6 hens) has:
2 Easter Eggers. They lay blue eggs.
1 Amish mutt, ~6yo, was laying light brown eggs, now I suspect she has “retired” from laying.
1 Barred Rock - who was laying medium-dark brown eggs before I added:
1 Australorp
1 Wyandotte

And, ~RIP~ 1 Buff Orpington
I had to cull her last night. She had a tumor on her neck that - after several months - finally started affecting her QOL. I doubt she laid the pictured egg, it was from yesterday.

[Equibrit]

What Chicken Breed Lays Speckled Eggs

[2DogsFarm]

Interesting read.
But my Easter Eggers lay blue.
Unless they are capable of switching to speckled brown?
Doubtful, as I will get 2 blue & a speckled the same day.
The Mystery continues…

[Equibrit]

Different Coloured Eggs and the Breeds That Lay Them

Bedazzling speckled eggs are a rare and special treat! And, while the dynamic duo of chickens responsible for laying these eggs on a regular basis are the Cuckoo Marans and the Welsummers , other breeds do at times lay these egg-straordinary specimens. Speckled eggshells occur when the egg rotates during the pigmenting stage. Apparently these eggs rotate too slowly and voila…speckles!

[JB]

Sometimes that speckling is a result of mis-managing the pigment that gets painted onto the egg after the shell is formed. All shades of brown eggs have a coat of pigment, while the greens/blues (not sure about lavenders but I think them as well) as the actual egg shell color.

IME any brown layer has the potential to produce these eggs, either regularly or randomly. It could be any of the 3.

I’m so sorry about your BO - that had to have been a hard decision

[Simkie]

@JB

IME any brown layer has the potential to produce these eggs, either regularly or randomly. It could be any of the 3.

Yup, agree 100%. Anything that lays brown can do this. Nope, your blue layers won’t switch out to brown speckles.

Another option, depending on where you’re finding this and the size/shape, is a wild turkey egg. It does look larger than the chicken eggs next to it in this pic. Turkey eggs are also a little pointier. Lots of pics on google for you to compare, if it’s possible that a wild turkey has access to where you’re collecting.

[2DogsFarm]

@JB Thanks, not the first, but it is never easy to cull
“Just chickens” doesn’t make it easier.
But, like horses - or any animal you are responsible for - Better a day too soon.
& you’re right - the blue eggshells are blue inside too.

@Simkie No way a turkey egg
Hens live in a fenced yard, roofed with crisscrossed baling twine (hawk defense), no turkey could get in… or out if it did, without a lot of effort!
AND: speckly eggs are always in The Fave nestbox, inside the coop.

[foggythistle]

Sounds like time for a chicken cam!

[2DogsFarm]

@foggythistle

Sounds like time for a chicken cam

Nah, not that important.
I was just curious what the COTH Chicken Mavens had to say.
Any color egg from a home hen is good

[Zu_Zu]

BUGS

Cheeto

not likely Bounce

[2DogsFarm]

Bugs!
Cheeto?

Yeah, never Bounce!

[GoodTimes]

Very cool egg! My current barred rock lays large medium/light brown eggs, every second one seems to have speckles on it.

I’ve chosen all my hens so that I know who lays what. It makes it so much easier to determine who is having an issue.

[foggybok]

My Australorp lays brown eggs with some darker brown speckles, so that would be my guess.