A large number of people all over the world love chicken eggs for two main reasons. One, they make scrumptious meals, and second, they are the source of those adorable little chicks and ultimately hens that they love to have as pets.
But, do you know that an egg can tell you many things about the mother hen?
We bet you don’t! (Unless you have been keeping chickens for long).
Ready to learn the basics of egg language?
Here you go!
What Different Characteristics Of Chicken Eggs Tell?
Let’s take a look at different characteristics of chicken eggs and see what they tell us:
1. Color
The color of a chicken egg mainly tells you about the breed of the hen. You must be aware of two colors of chicken eggs i.e. white and brown, but you may be surprised to know that some breeds of hens even lay blue eggs (they are rare though!)
Cream Legbars, Arucauna and Ameraucana are three breeds that are known to lay blue eggs.
Another lesser known fact that egg color tells is that white eggs are laid by leaner breeds, which can easily tolerate high heat. On the other hand, brown eggs are told to be coming from large hens having thick feathers and low heat tolerance. Even among these, the shade of brown varies from breed to breed.
2. Size
Chicken eggs vary in sizes as well; though only slightly. This, just like the color, tells about the breed of the hen. But, according to commercial poultry farmers, it also has to do with the chicken’s age. Older hens are likely to produce large sized eggs that younger ones. Hens of Bantam and Serama breed are told to lay eggs that are quite smaller than the ones we buy from the market.
3. Shape
An egg that is in any way different from the regular egg shape is reflecting towards following possible problems:
- The hen is suffering from Egg Drop Syndrome 76, Newcastle disease, laryngotracheitis or infectious bronchitis.
- Overcrowding.
- Shell gland is not properly developed.
- Stress.
4. Shell
The shell of a chicken egg can tell you a lot about the mother hen. Soft shelled, deformed and shell less eggs hint towards different diseases, deficiencies and health condition the mother hen is suffering from.
Soft Shelled Egg
A soft shelled egg can be a result of many factors, some of which are:
- The hen is either too young i.e. during the early stage of egg production, or too old i.e. in the last stage of egg laying.
- In cases where this factor is ruled out, a soft shelled egg may be hinting towards the calcium deficiency in the hen.
- This may be a sign that the hen was consuming saline water or phosphorus in excess.
- It may reflect that the hen had suffered from heat stroke
- Also, this could be due to the fact the hen is not getting the required amount of daylight.
Shell less Egg
Hens may lay shell less eggs that are protected only by the shell membrane. This may be a result of:
- Certain diseases, such as avian influenza, infectious bronchitis etc.
- Undeveloped or poorly developed shell gland
- Lack of essential nutrients, such as calcium, vitamin D3, phosphorus etc
Know that calcium is drained from hen’s body during the production of eggshell. Therefore, you need to make sure that the hen is supplied with the calcium rich food, and also the supplements (if needed), to make sure she does not become calcium deficient.
Fading of legs, wattles and comb is a sign of calcium reduction in hen’s body.
Eggshells with Speckles or Calcium Deposits
Possible causes of eggs with white or brown speckles or calcium deposits are:
- Consumption of food with excessive amount of calcium
- Disturbances during the process of calcification
- Problem with the shell gland
Important: While all the above mentioned problems can be resolved through proper medication and care, the eggs produced by infected or unhealthy chickens should not be used for breeding as they will not produce healthy chicks.
