Have you seen blue, green, pink or chocolate coloured eggs? Which chickens lay coloured eggs?

Each chicken breed has specific genes which affect their eggshell colour.  Some say a hen’s earlobe colour may be a clue as to the colour of egg that she will lay. Hens with white earlobes typically lay white eggs, while hens with red earlobes usually lay tinted or brown, blue, green and pink eggs. Have you found this to be true?

Although all eggs start out with white shells, the blue or brown dye (or both) applied to the shells of some breeds results in eggs that come in almost all the hues of the rainbow. Eggshell colour is unique to each hen, depending on her breed and genetics. The colour does not change egg nutrients; the colour of the shell is simply decoration.

As the hen forms the shell, pigments called porphyrins are secreted from cells within the hen’s uterus to add colour. Blue egg layers add pigment early in the shell formation process, which is why these shells are blue all the way through. A combination of blue and brown pigments produces a green shell colour.  Hens that lay white eggs do not produce any pigments during shell formation.

Whichever colour your girls eggs are, one of the biggest benefits of keeping chickens is having a supply of fresh eggs. If you are looking to expand your flock and are interested in different coloured eggs, you could try some of the breeds below.

Chocolate Brown Egg Layers

Barnvelder