Did I Get Scammed Buying Hatching Eggs Promised to be Darker Color and Blue Plumage?

Buying hatching eggs online can feel like a leap of faith. You see a beautiful picture of birds with striking blue plumage and eggs in rich, darker olive shades. You place your order, excited to add these unique birds to your flock. But when the eggs arrive, they look much lighter than expected. Then, as the chicks grow and start laying, the eggs turn out brown instead of the olive color you hoped for. The birds don’t have the blue feathers you wanted, and only a couple show the traits you were promised. How did this happen? Did you get scammed, or is there another explanation?

This post explores the common pitfalls of buying hatching eggs based on pictures and promises, what to watch out for, and how to protect yourself from disappointment.

This was the egg I was after. The breeder had posted numerous pictures of eggs this color and I wanted to buy eggs from the parent stock. (This is not the breeders picture, it's mine, we aren't throwing any specific breeder under the bus today.)

The Promise of Unique Birds and Egg Colors

When buying hatching eggs, sellers often highlight special traits like blue plumage or eggs in unusual colors such as olive or deep dark brown. These features can be very appealing for backyard chicken keepers who want to diversify their flocks or breed for specific traits.

In this case, the eggs were advertised with a picture showing darker eggs like the one above, and the birds were supposed to have blue feathers and pea combs. I expected to receive slightly lighter colored eggs than the one pictured above from the parent stock.

What did I receive?

I purchased one egg color so why did I get what looks like two different earlier generations eggs?

The first sign of trouble was the eggs arriving lighter than expects. This can happen for several reasons:

• Lighting and photography: Photos can be edited or taken in lighting that exaggerates color. After going back and looking at the breeders photos it was obvious there was some minor light manipulation.

• Egg variability: Even within a breed, egg color can vary widely. So when a breeder says its from the same lines it can mean you will get what you want but it can also be an ugly younger sister who just doesn't fit the mold.

• Lack of Clarity: While the darker eggs could hatch the color I am after the lighter ones, at best, could only hatch the darker ones pictured with them. That isn't what I ordered. I ordered the parent stock that would produce only the darkest olive.

• Pullet Eggs: Some breeders feel its okay to include pullet eggs. I have had this issue in some Ameraucana eggs where the constantly lay eggs under 50 grams at one year of age. We cull those we don't ship/hatch them. Side note, none of the pullet eggs hatched. To the breeders credit all of the other eggs did.

  
  

Once the chicks hatched it was clear we wouldn't be seeing any of the olive eggs we were hoping for. All but one had straight combs and only one straight comb chick had blue plumage. This suggests the flock was not as uniform or true to the advertised 'breed' as expected. You would expect 50/50 male to female as well as olive/brown ratio.

While we were fortunate enough to know after 21 days not everyone knows this. We grew out the birds because we had an empty pen and wanted to finish this post with pictures of what they laid. It took 7 months to get the first egg. Even though I knew they would be brown layers it was still just as disappointing to have it confirmed.

Great speckles but not exactly the deep olive we were going for.

So how did this happen?

The breeder description says:

"These CAN lay a dark olive....blah blah blah....... they can also lay brown, speckled, mauve, peach, rhubarb"

Just kidding on the rhubarb, the point is they just don't know the line is so mixed there is no way to know. This egg is from a back cross so you have a 50/50 chance of getting an olive laying hen. However, it is VERY ODD to get only 1 in 20 that get the blue gene.

To avoid surprises, consider these steps before purchasing hatching eggs:

• Read the description carefully: If it isn't a purebred their will be a wide variety of outcomes possible. Are you okay with that? Lucky for me I was already working on my own line and the first picture is what I wanted just got it from my own lines.

• Ask the breeder these question: 1. Will all my eggs be the same color/generation? Clearly I received two different generations. 2. Will the eggs I receive be the parent stock of xx picture. Send them their own picture.

• Ask about parent stock plumage if color matters: I should have been more clear and asked what percentage of the parent stock was blue, black or splash.

• Check reviews and reputation: Look for feedback from other buyers about the seller’s accuracy on the bad egg facebook groups.

• Ask about variability: In this case, the breeder is backcrossing so she is tossing the brown layers and keeping the olive layers. Ask what percentage of her hatch is olive? She could throw out 50/50 and it might not be true but at least you have brought it to the forefront of their mind. They want more olive then brown too!

Its a beautiful egg so how is this a loss?

Without getting too far in the weeds, we don't run pens with back crossed browns for the very reason I (not AI) am writing this post, they are unpredictable. People want the egg you post in your photos and you need to send them the parent stocks eggs so when their hen starts to lay, they get what they asked for or at least what they thought they would get.

As you can see below, if you hatch our back crossed olives you have a 50/50 chance of getting brown or olive. The girls that laid these eggs all hatched from olive eggs. There are no peach, mauve, apricot and whatever other variation because it's only two breeds in these lines. It's predictable.

What to Do If You Feel You Were Misled

BEFORE you hit social media double check what you thought you knew.

Did the breeder say you were getting a pure breed? If not, then anything goes. They are not wrong and neither are you. You played the genetic lottery and got what you got. It happened to me, more than once.

If you still suspect you were scammed or misled:

• Contact the seller: Ask for explanations, politely. Sellers are used to people with a bad hatch rate demanding replacements and taking no responsibility for their role in the process. If you come to them and say "hey, all the eggs hatched and the chicks are healthy. So that I have better luck next time, what can I do to make sure there are no misunderstanding in the future? Then proceed to tell them the issues you have. This business is cut throat, demanding 24/7 and there is no real money in it for the little guy. I just told you how I spent almost $300 on eggs and 7 months in feed and have nothing I can sell. That pen could have gone to growing my purple line.

• Document your purchase: Take screenshots of the photos that convinced you to make the purchase. That way you can ask why your eggs don't look at all like what was pictured. This only applies to pure breeds. IF you bought a Legbar that lays a brown egg you have a real case to ask for a refund or replacement.

• Leave honest reviews: Help other buyers by sharing your experience. Keep in mind you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube and you will be attacked by the people who follow that breeder. With that said, I have seen big name breeders attacked for misleading pictures and labeling things SOP change their ways when the noise got loud enough.

  
  
  
  

Tips for Future Purchases

• Buy from breeders with transparent practices.

• Join poultry forums or groups to get recommendations.

• Consider buying eggs so you know what your getting.

• Start with small orders to test the seller’s reliability.

You tell me.....

Hatching egg scam? or was it my fault?

I won't name the breeder. The point of this blog post was to inform the reader about the nature of pursuing olive egg layers. Will I order more eggs from that breeder, no. The pictures were deceptive, the egg & feather colors were wrong, and the ratio of brown to olive layers is way to far off for me. In my opinion, what that breeder offers will not improve what I have. It could improve your basket if you have no olives. They had a good hatch rate and the birds had a great temperament. So in the end, no need to throw them under the bus.