The Secret to Colorful Eggs is Having a Diverse Flock of Chickens
In order to have a rainbow egg basket, you will need several breeds that lay a large range of color. Diversity is key. So at a minimum you will need a blue egg layer, a brown egg layer, a white egg layer, and a green egg layer. While it may seem boring to invest in a white egg laying breed, it is this white egg that will make the other colors pop in vibrancy. White eggs should not be underestimated.
Chicken Breeds to Add to your Flock for a Rainbow Egg Basket
- Black Copper Marans – dark brown eggs
- Cream Legbar – blue eeggs
- Araucana Chicken – blue eggs
- Ameraucana Chicken – pastel blue and green eggs
- Whiting true blue – blue eggs
- Welsummer – dark brown speckled eggs
- Swedish Isbar – green eggs
What Determines the Color of Eggs?
Egg color is determined by the hen’s genetics. The shade of color is determined by levels of eggshell pigmentation and bloom heaviness. While it is not possible for one hen to lay different color eggs, it is possible for the shade to vary from egg to egg.
Egg color is due to three pigments that may be present based on genetics, protoporphyrin, biliverdin, and zinc-biliverdin chelate. Protoporphyrin is responsible for producing the various shades of brown. Biliverdin leads to blue shelled eggs. And, zinc-biliverdin chelate creates green eggs.
The bloom of an egg is different from pigment but also contributes towards egg color. It is the thin, outermost film layer on the egg that helps protect it from bacteria entering through the pores. Once an egg is washed or wet, this protective layer is removed, and eggs must be used immediately or refrigerated in order to slow the growth of bacteria.
White Eggs
White eggshells are the most common naturally-occurring egg color. All eggshells are made up of calcium carbonate, which is naturally white in color. White eggs do not have any pigment and the bloom is clear in color.
White Leghorns are a popular breed of chicken that lay white shelled eggs and have a friendly disposition. While it may seem dull or boring to have a white egg laying breed when you are looking to have an abundance of colorful eggs, it is this white egg that is going to contribute to the vibrancy in colors in your egg basket.
For a truly beautiful basket of rainbow eggs, you should really consider adding a few white egg layers to your backyard flock.
Brown Eggs
The second most common color egg in the world is the brown egg. Brown eggs get their color later in the egg laying process, just minutes before being laid. Protoporphyrin is the pigment responsible for producing brown eggs but the bloom also contributes to the brown color and can vary accordingly.
Marans, such as the Black Copper Marans, produce an egg that is rich brown in color sometimes referred to as a chocolate brown. Dark brown eggs are considered rare but they are quintessential for creating a colorful egg basket and in producing the highly sought-after hybrid olive egger. But here’s a fun fact, the more eggs a hen lays on a weekly basis, the lighter in shade the eggshell color may be.
Welsummer chickens lay a deep reddish-brown egg that can sometimes have speckles. Egg speckling will vary from egg to egg as well as hen to hen.
Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Plymouth Rock, Light Sussex Chicken are all excellent layers of light to medium brown eggs. Additions of these breeds will certainly add to the variety in egg colors and the diversity of chickens within your flock.
Blue Eggs
Blue eggs get their color from the pigment Biliverdin. Unlike the pigment that produces brown eggs, protoporhyrin, which is applied toward the final stages of the egg developing process, Biliverdin is applied at a very early stage. It is because of this that blue eggshells are blue on the inside and the outside. Whereas brown eggshells are white on the inside, brown on the outside.
Blue egg laying breeds carry the Oocyan gene also known as the “blue egg gene”. Development of the Oocyan gene occurred a few hundreds years ago from exposure to a harmless retrovirus. A retroviruses is a virus that inserts a copy of its own genetic code into the DNA of the host cell that it invades. This results in the alteration of the cell’s genetic makeup and a genetic mutation passed on to the offspring. This mutation was what lead to the creation of the Oocyan allele that produces the Biliverdin (blue) pigment.
Cream Legbar, Araucana, Ameraucana, Whiting True Blue are all heritage breeds that lay vibrant blue eggs. With increasing favorability for blue eggs, the demand for each of these breeds also increases. Large hatcheries often sell out of these types of chickens rather quickly. If you are in search of a heritage blue egg-laying breed, you will have to reserve your chicks early with a large hatchery. A local small chick hatchery or backyard flock breeders are also great options for finding these gorgeous high demand pure breeds.
The Easter Egger is a hybrid breed that carries the dominant blue egg laying gene. They are a mixed breed and are typically the result of crossing Araucanas or Ameraucanas with different breeds of chickens that lay either white or brown eggs. Easter eggers do not have a breed standard. Their physical appearance varies widely, depending on their parents but they often have the most unique feather color patterns as a result.
Prairie Bluebell Egger is another hybrid breed that lays gorgeous blue eggs. This unofficial breed is created by crossing Araucanas and White Leghorns. Similar to the easter egger chicken. there is no set standard by the american poultry association as it is not a recognized breed of chicken.
Green Eggs
Green chicken eggs can come in a variety of shades from a pastel green to a dark olive shade. Swedish Isbar and Ameraucanas are the only pure breeds of chicken that naturally lay a green tinted egg. Ameraucanas tend to lay more of a pastel shade of green. Swedish Isbars lay a shade of green that ranges from mint to moss in color.
All other green colored egg layers are hybrid chickens. By crossing a brown egg laying breed and a blue egg laying breed, the result is a green egg laying hybrid chicken. These hybrid offspring will have a genetic disposition for protoporphyrin (brown) and oocyan (blue) pigments in the egg shell color. It is this pigment combination that creates the green eggshell color. Protoprophyrin helps to determine the lightness or darkness of shade. An egg with less protoprophyrin pigment will be a lighter shade of green. Conversely, an egg with greater protoprophyrin pigment will create a darker shade of green. Similar to that of chocolate brown eggs, a hen that lays more eggs on a weekly basis will have less protoprophyrin pigment to contribute to each egg. Therefore, a hen laying higher quantities will often produce lighter shades of green.
Green egg genetics can be take into further generations with additional breeding techniques. By crossing a green egg layer with another blue egg laying chicken breed, the result will be Sage Eggers (chickens who lay a sage green egg). If the desired end result is olive green eggs, there are two ways to breed your way to an olive egger; by crossing either a blue OR a green egg laying chicken with a rich brown egg laying chicken.
Olive Eggers are increasingly popular for small backyard flocks. Typically, breeding a Black Copper Maran and an Ameraucana will produce olive egg layers.
Pink Eggs and Purple Eggs
Pink and purple eggs are both extremely rare to come by. Any pink and purple eggs that are created are not from the hen’s pigment but rather her bloom. A bloom with a red tint will often lend a pink or purple hue on an otherwise white or brown egg. The bloom can be washed away, turning a purple egg back to a brown egg. And, a chicken that lays a purple egg one day, may lay a regular brown egg the next day. The shade of pink or purple depends on the shade of brown beneath the bloom as well as the color of the bloom itself. Lighter hued eggs will lend a softer pink whereas rich browns are more likely to produce the occasional purple color egg.
Croad Langshan, Salmon Faverolle, Easter Eggers, Marans and Maran crosses all tend to have heavy blooms that may result in pink or purple colored eggs.
The Croad Langshan and Salmon Faverolle’s are both purebred dual-purpose breeds of chicken that lay brown eggs. The Croad Langshan has been known to produce plum-colored eggs, whereas the Salmon Faverolle lighter eggshell color can sometimes come in pink. They are both known to be sweet and gentle breeds that would make a great additions to any backyard flock regardless of their pink or purple egg producing potential.
Easter Eggers have been known for laying a wide range of color from greens and blues to pinks, earning them their unique and equally colorful name. It is difficult to predict what color of egg they will lay, however, a colorful egg is guaranteed, and sometimes they are pink.
Marans and Maran crosses naturally lay a darker egg of various colors. Find one with a heavy bloom and you may just get lucky and find a purple egg layer.
Does Egg Shell Color Influence the Taste?
No. Egg shell color does not contribute to the egg’s nutritional value or taste of the egg. Egg color does have an economical significance, however, due to preferences of the consumer. In the United States, it is not uncommon to find white and brown eggs in the grocery store. However, small farms are producing fresh eggs that are diverse in color.
Egg color may not have a factor in the taste, but the hens diet does. When buying from your local farmer, not only do you get fun colors, you also get tastier eggs. Chickens that are allowed to free range and supplemented with a feed that is high in quality will produce eggs that are more flavorful.
Leave a Reply