So many of us are on FB in both Ameraucana pages, so a lot of us have seen the post that was placed on a different chicken page regarding egg shell colors in Ameraucanas, Araucanas, and EE's. In short, the original poster declared that after much research, she has solved the mystery of how to tell an EE from an Ameraucana and Araucana. (Am I spelling Araucana right?) She stated that any egg that is blue on the inside is a true, pure Ameraucana or Araucana, and any colored egg that is NOT blue on the inside is an EE. Obviously, this is flawed logic, and there are many breeders chiming in. But some of the comments from people who know much more than I do has me scratching my head, and although I have read the exact same information on many expert scientific articles, I am seeing something different in my own eggs.
The statement is that ALL blue eggs will be the same blue on the inside AFTER the membrane is removed completely. There is also a statement that if the "blue" egg is NOT the same blue on the inside, that it is an EE.
Scientifically, the blue shell is said to have had the oocyanine deposited through the building of the shell, therefore, logic says it will be the same color through and through. Here is my problem with the blanket statement that all blue eggs will be the same blue through and through:
I have very beautiful, very pure Ameraucanas from two different breeders who know what they are doing. I can assure you, my birds are pure Ameraucanas. I have been getting blue eggs for several months now; various shades of blue, a couple are already almost white at this point in their cycle, and some are almost a grayish blue. I am very happy with the blues on my eggs. I am almost obsessive about my shells. I don't let my family crack open any blue eggs, because I examine each blue egg for fertility and inner shell color.
Not once, not a single time, have I cracked open a blue egg, carefully cleaned the membrane off, sometimes more than one layer of membrane, have I ever had a inner shell the same color as the outer. Every. Single. Egg. is either white on the inside, or an EXTREMELY pale blue compared with the outside. Yes, I make sure I get the membrane off completely, and I do so immediately after opening the egg so as to not let it dry.
Also, this thread has many statements that all brown/tan/pink eggs will NOT have the same color as the outside since the brown "sprayer" is at the end of the tunnel. Scientific logic says that should be true. HOWEVER, I have a lovely pinkish egg from my flock (I have several breeds of several different colored egg layers) that is the exact same pinkish color on the inside as it is on the outside.
My point, either I have a flock full of mixed breed EE's and their eggs aren't really blue and I am imagining things, which means so are my kids, my hubs, and all my friends who love the multiple colored eggs I have....OR...even though scientifically ALL blue egg shells SHOULD be blue throughout, there are always exceptions, and the oocyanine is not always evenly deposited and distributed during the shell making on every blue laying hen.
Am I the only one who has painstaking cleaned the inside of a freshly laid blue egg, looking for that blue coloring, and ended up wondering why it is very pale, or even white? Is it just me? I realize this may not even matter to some, but when I read so many comments that state "if the inside shell is NOT the same blue as the outside, it is an EE", that kind of gets my attention.
Someone chime in and tell me I am not crazy! Or color blind! Or inept!
