[Ben_H]

Right. Two of my birds are laying, one is definitely a bovans nera the other either a goldline or a cochin.

The picture below shows the nera egg at the bottom, slightly longer than normal as I caught her in mid lay when I went to check for eggs this morning and put her off her stride. The other egg is from the mystery hen. It is the second in two days of the same size and a darker shade of brown to the nera.

I was expecting the goldline eggs to be a similar colour and size to the nera eggs. I wasn't expecting a cochin to lay two days in a row. One or both of my assumptions is wrong.

Any thoughts?

[Casey76]

I suspect it is the goldline, Ben.  A cochin egg will be tinted, not brown.

[Ben_H]

OK, I was going on the Katie Thear table from the forum:
http://www.poultry.allotment-garden.org/Chicken_a/egg_shell_color/egg_shell_color.php
though I note from her "Where to Start with Chickens" that she only says tinted.

Funny thing is that for once I spent most of the morning in or around the coop and didn't hear any kind of "laying kerfuffle". The Nera must be a quiet layer as I was there the whole time she was in the nest box. The other might have been laid earlier however. I feel a stake out coming on!