What makes an egg speckledy?

[cuwiar]

My Rhode Rock lays lovely eggs but some days they are more speckled than others - wondered if anyone can enlighten me about why this happens? 19

 

[chrismahon]

Our Black Rocks all laid pale eggs but some had little white flecks or tiny lumps on them. Is that what you mean by speckled Cuwiar? They started doing this after contracting IB and ILT -it is a documented side-effect which you can see on supermarket eggs. The hens that haven't had these viruses lay consistantly smooth regular eggs.

 

[Marigold]

My Amber Star hybrid lays speckledy eggs, and I know what you mean Cuwiar, about some days they are more speckled than others. Also as she went through her first laying season last summer, the speckles diminished until some days she was just laying plain pinky-brown eggs. I assumed she had gradually used up her supply of speckled pigment, the way hens' legs go from yellow to paler cream when they've had a long laying season. It's not lumps or little white flecks as Chris suggests, it's definitely a pigmented effect more like freckles. I don't know why they occur, or why some hens speckle their eggs and some breeds don't. The speckles are very attractive I think.

 

[darkbrowneggs]

I like the speckled eggs very much, and for a few years have been working on a line which will be much more likely to produce them. I have named them Higgledy Harriet Hens , and so far am very pleased with them. I find the eggs that bit more tricky to hatch so don't sell the eggs but very occasionally have laying pullets for sale

These were some of the very best from last year, though they do vary tremendously in depth of colour and amount of speckling, from hen to hen and from egg to egg

 

[crazypianolady]

And now I really would like some Higgledy Harriets, please! :lol:

 

[darkbrowneggs]

 

[cuwiar]

The pics that DBE posted are how they look although maybe not quite as heavily speckled and maybe a bit lighter. They look lovely but can differ from day to day, one day completely uniform colour (mid brown/pink) sometimes tiny specks and sometimes big blotchy specks.

So, I wondered if it was something in her diet? They are definitley not whiteish or lumpy as Chris asks, she is only in her first laying season so maybe it will eventually stop as Marigolds girl did. They are still lovely eggs either way - we had visitors at the weekend and got lots of admiring comments on the colour of the girls yolks!

 

[Chuck]

I think it's mainly in the genetic makeup and some seem to produce speckled eggs even though they're not bred to. Attractive though and a good selling point, at least in the first instance.
Might get some Moorhens penned up as their eggs are blotched. Wonder if they'd hybridise with hens !

 

[Marigold]

Try cross-breeding them with quail for really dramatic patterns!