Speckled Eggs

One of our chickens, Sour, lays speckled eggs on a pretty regular basis. Why? We had no idea, so we did some research to figure it out.

The short answer is the speckles are extra calcium deposits, and are formed when the calcification process is disturbed or when there’s a defective shell gland. Specifically, the speckles are formed during the pigmentation stage of development inside the hen's body. They can also be caused by an excess of calcium in the hen's diet and it might also be a natural way to make shells stronger. Lots of possible reasons!

Here's what we know: Sweet and Sour are two different types of chickens, which may explain why only one hen lays the speckled eggs. Both hens have the same diet which includes pellets, scratch, fresh fruits and vegetables, crushed oyster shells, and dried meal worms. Learn more about our chickens.