Individual Hen Differences in Egg Shell Mottling and the Relationship of Shell Mottling to Clutch Size, Internal Quality and Weight Loss

UPON storage of eggs, light-colored, translucent spots of various sizes will appear in many shells when a candle is used. Holst, Almquist and Lorenz (1932) refer to these translucent spots as shell texture. In this paper, shells with these translucent spots will be called mottled shells because this terminology is generally accepted today. When an egg is first laid, there is no mottling of the shell. In as short a period of time as one-half hour, shell mottling may appear. Many egg buyers downgrade eggs at least one grade that show mottling of the shell. This is done because they feel that eggs with mottled shells will not hold up as long in the channels of trade. This downgrading means a loss of thousands of dollars each year to egg producers. This study was conducted to find out if there was any significant difference among individuals with respect to egg . . .