One of the most interesting facts about chickens is that they lay not only brown and white eggs but also blue, green, olive, and pink. There is no need for dyeing Easter eggs when you have chicken breeds like Barred Rock, Ameraucana, Rhode Island Red, Welsummer, Maran, and Easter Egger. Did you know that food consumption has no effect on the color of the shell? These chickens carry a special gene that causes their eggs to be colorful. Collecting farm-fresh eggs can be even more exciting when the shells are shades of the rainbow!
Do you wish to have amazing colorful eggs every day? Then add some chickens that lay colored eggs to your flock. Make sure they stay safe from predators by installing a solid automatic chicken coop door.
Eeaster egger chickens
Easter Eggers are famous for their special colored eggs, but they are not recognized as a chicken breed by the American Poultry Association or the American Bantam Association. They are hybrid or mixed-breed chickens resulting from the breeding of a bird carrying the blue-egg gene (Araucana or Ameraucana) with one that lays brown eggs. It is believed that the original intent was to create a new breed that would produce blue eggs like those laid by the Ameraucana. However, this was not achieved and instead, they have produced many different colors. Each individual hen will only lay one color, but you will get a large variety within a flock.
Easter Egger chickens have become a backyard favorite across the States for many reasons. They can lay a wide variety of egg colors: blue, green, lavender, pink, and olive. Their black outlines on the eyes give them an adorable look that some folks describe as chipmunk-ish. They are also friendly and sociable, which makes them an excellent addition to any flock.
There are several other options for trending colorful chicken eggs:
Blue eggs
Ameraucana, Araucana, Cream Legbar, Arkansas Blue Chicken, Lushi, Dongxiang, Whiting True Blue
Green eggs
Ameraucana, Isbar/Silverudd, Favacuana, Ice Cream Bar, Olive Eggers
White eggs
Andalusian, Belgian, Campine, Catalana, Hamburg, Lakenvelder, Leghorn, Minorca, Polish
Cream-pinkish eggs:
Sussex, Easter Eggers, Australorp, Silkie, Faverolles, Orpington
Dark brown eggs:
Barnvelder, Black/Blue Copper Maran, Penedesenca, Welsummer
Pink eggs:
La Flèche, Australorps, Easter Eggers (some), Langshan, Light Sussex, Plymouth Rock
Black eggs?
Well, the rumor of the famous Ayam cemani chicken laying black eggs is wrong! While most parts of an Ayam cemani chicken are black outside and inside, their eggs are not. Ayam cemani actually lay a cream-colored egg with a pinkish tinge. Unfortunately, it’s not possible that there would be a chicken laying black eggs.
Brown hens lay brown eggs and white hens lay white eggs. True or false?
Is this correct? Unfortunately, what sounds plausible at first thought is not (always) true, because the color of the eggshells is genetically determined and dependent on the breed of chicken or the breeds that have been crossed.
Other external factors have only a very small influence on the color of the eggshell.
What can be influenced with feed is a bright yellow egg yolk with high-quality feed or supplementary feed with natural carotenoids from lucerne, green fodder, or carrots.
Facts about the color of eggshells
• In shops, there are usually only white and brown eggs, because the breeds that lay the colored eggs mainly belong to the old chicken breeds that lay fewer eggs compared to the laying hybrids used in professional operations.
• You can determine the color of the egg by looking at the bird itself. Hens lay white or brown eggs if they have a specific ear flap (skin flaps under the ears):
– if the earlobe is red, the eggshells are usually brown
– if the earlobe is white, then the eggs are almost certainly white too.
• By crossing different breeds, the color of the laid egg can be influenced too. With further mating of these different mixed breeds, new colors, shades of color or mottles can arise on the eggshell.
• There can also be differences in the eggshell color within the individual chicken breeds.
• Interesting fact: An unusual egg color can protect the chick inside from predators and cuckoos that lay eggs inside the nests.
You can make your chicken coop and your special chicken breeds safe if you install an automated chicken coop door from Run-Chicken.
Do you want Easter eggs every day? Many species of hens can lay colored eggs
How does the chicken produce the color of the eggshell?
The different shades of the shells are produced by the chicken when she stores different color pigments inside her body by eating certain foods. The color pigments are produced and released by the chicken gland in the oviduct. Red pigments come from the blood and yellow from the bile. When mixed, a brown tone is created. In the case of white egg-laying chickens, no pigments or too few pigments are made in the body. There is also a difference between a shell that is colored throughout and a shell that is only colored on the outside. While the green shell is colored throughout, the dark brown of the egg can be wiped off freshly laid eggs.
If you’d like to know more about chicken breeds, please read our article about the top 15 most beautiful chicken breeds of all time or which chicken breed is right for you.
Finally, don’t forget to share your colorful eggs from your beautiful chickens with us on Facebook or Instagram. Use tag @runchickendoor.
