Are Welsummer's eggs supposed to be this color?

[booklover]

I have five Welsummer hens, and every egg I get from them is light brown with speckles.

I've read that Welsummer eggs were supposed to be dark brown with speckles..

The two eggs in this picture:
Smaller one is a Welsummer hen's and the bigger one is one of my older RSL girls, to show the color comparison


Could I have a breed that is not a Welsummer? Maybe a hybrid or different breed? This is what they look like, sorry its fuzzy, and please pardon the Wyandotte and Easter Egger, they like their picture taken

 

[Spartan22]

I have five Welsummer hens, and every egg I get from them is light brown with speckles.

I've read that Welsummer eggs were supposed to be dark brown with speckles..

The two eggs in this picture:
Smaller one is a Welsummer hen's and the bigger one is one of my older RSL girls, to show the color comparison
View attachment 2157822

Could I have a breed that is not a Welsummer? Maybe a hybrid or different breed? This is what they look like, sorry its fuzzy, and please pardon the Wyandotte and Easter Egger, they like their picture taken

View attachment 2157836

I got 4 Welsumers, and their eggs are always speckled but darker than yours. It’s normally on the reddish side than dark brown side in comparison to my French Black Copper Marans eggs. I attach a photo, welsumer’s eggs @the bottom.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I only have one Welsummer. Her eggs are all over the spectrum! Sometimes chocolate, sometimes speckled, and very occasionally almost white. How old are they? My girl's eggs were very light at first.

Oh! Also, the color is added late in the egg process. It can come off, but it is usually scratched off by chicken feet or bedding, so not so uniformly pale.

 

[booklover]

I only have one Welsummer. Her eggs are all over the spectrum! Sometimes chocolate, sometimes speckled, and very occasionally almost white. How old are they? My girl's eggs were very light at first.

Oh! Also, the color is added late in the egg process. It can come off, but it is usually scratched off by chicken feet or bedding, so not so uniformly pale.

They've only been laying for a little while, a few months maybe, so I guess that's why their eggs are so pale!

Thanks for telling me!

 

[AusHen]

Did you get them from a breeder or a hatchery? I know with hatcheries they don't typically focus on egg colour but I guess the same can be said for some breeders. hopefully they darken up if thats what you got them for, I know not getting what you expect can be a tad disappointing

 

[333113]

It's true that when you breed you have to consciously select for egg color. Every generation brings some variation, and a breeder has to wait until the egg color settles down and gets consistent before selecting the hen for breeding. That takes time (and feed and housing). I believe that most hatcheries have not focused on egg color.

However, now that shows sponsored by the American Poultry Association and the American Bantam Association can have an egg-judging component, I expect that there will be more emphasis on the egg quality and color. I mean, if COVID-19 ever goes away enough for us to have shows again!

 

[sealer39]

I have five Welsummer hens, and every egg I get from them is light brown with speckles.

I've read that Welsummer eggs were supposed to be dark brown with speckles..

The two eggs in this picture:
Smaller one is a Welsummer hen's and the bigger one is one of my older RSL girls, to show the color comparison
View attachment 2157822

Could I have a breed that is not a Welsummer? Maybe a hybrid or different breed? This is what they look like, sorry its fuzzy, and please pardon the Wyandotte and Easter Egger, they like their picture taken

View attachment 2157836

Where did you get your Welsummer? I have five pullets and a cockerel from Cackle Hatchery but they aren’t due to lay for a couple more weeks at least.

 

[aart]

They've only been laying for a little while, a few months maybe, so I guess that's why their eggs are so pale!

Probably not likely they are going to get darker.
Egg pics almost looks greenish....but can be hard to tell.
Pics on white paper in bright but not direct sunlight is often best.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Did you get them from a breeder or a hatchery? I know with hatcheries they don't typically focus on egg colour but I guess the same can be said for some breeders. hopefully they darken up if thats what you got them for, I know not getting what you expect can be a tad disappointing

True! My girl is a feed store find, which means she's hatchery. This may very well account for her inconsistent egg color. But I love her anyway - she's a lil on the wacky, kinda neurotic side.

 

[Perris]

They look like proper welsummers, so it appears you've just got hens from a strain not bred for dark egg colour. That even happened to the breed in the country of origin (Holland), because it was not part of the SOP, and recently their club has reasserted the importance of the dark egg colour to try to revive it there.