The pigment of the beak fades first at the corners of the mouth, progressing toward the tip as production continues. Complete loss of pigment in the beak takes 4 to 6 weeks. The feet and shanks take from 4 to 6 months to completely lose their pigmentation. Color is first lost from the bottoms of the feet, then from the front of the shanks, then from the rear of the shanks, and finally from the tops of the toes and the hock joint. When a hen stops laying, the pigment returns to her body parts in the same order that it leaves, but at a much faster rate.
Pigmentation is a good indicator of egg production for the first six months a bird has been laying.
And, when a bird has stopped production long enough for pigment to return to some body parts, it is an indicator of how long the bird has been out of production. Rate of lay and individual variations between birds can influence how rapidly pigmentation changes take place. The more pigment there is at the start, the longer it will take for all the pigment to fade. Pigmentation changes generally take place faster in small hens than in heavies. Low vitality birds may also have faded pigment due to abnormalities or disease and yet not be good producers.