It seems like lately, having hens that lay colorful eggs is all the craze. And it is fun to see a bowl or carton filled with eggs that range in color from white to various shades of brown, greens, blues, and even pinks. Dare I say that finding a white egg outside of a grocery store is becoming the anomaly! There is nothing wrong with raising chickens simply for their colorful eggs. Different breeds of chickens are being developed to accommodate the desire for varied egg colors. So let’s explore colorful egg layers.
The original breed that was know for their blue and green colored eggs is the Araucana.. The history of the Araucana is interesting, if not confusing and a bit of a mystery. It is a breed that is believed to have originated in Chile. There is some argument as to whether they were brought over from Europe or Polynesia, or maybe they were hybrids of European chickens and whatever chicken was native to South America. Whatever their history, they were discovered in Chile by a Spanish aviculturist in the early 1900’s. Their tufted earlobes and rumpless hind end along with the blue eggs they laid, made them a novelty. Their uniqueness did not go unnoticed. Unfortunately this chicken breed also carries a lethal gene that tends to cause the death of future Araucanas prenatally…before they hatch. They are considered to be a rare breed and are only available at this time from breeders, not from hatcheries. There are both standard-size and bantams available and they are used mainly for show poultry.
https://www.elevagedupreamont.com/les-animaux-de-l-elevage/les-poules/poules-aux-oeufs-de-couleurs/
In the 1970’s a breed was developed in the US called the Ameraucana. It is a domestic chicken derived from the Araucanas that were brought over from Chile. They were bred to retain the blue and green egg colors, but eliminate the tufted, rumpless lethal gene that also causes the propensity for the young to die prenatally. They are considered a breed separate from Araucanas, are also available in stand-size and bantam, and come in many different colors. These birds are sought after for their blue eggs and are available from hatcheries. They are a little pricey for a backyard chicken, but are common sights at poultry shows. Distinguishing features of the Ameraucana are beards, ear tufts and lack of wattles.
New to the egg scene in the United States is the Cream Legbar which lays a sky-blue egg. This bird is a cross between Barred Plymouth Rocks and Brown Leghorns, with some Araucana and Gold Campine genes. It is also a breed that touts autosexing on day one of chicks hatching, meaning there is a definite distinction between roosters and hens that can be seen on the day they hatch. This breed has been around in England since the 1930’s. The British Poultry Club formally recognized the Cream Legbar in 1958, but the American Poultry Association does not yet recognize the breed. This breed was developed by a couple of geneticists interested in a chicken that was an excellent egg layer and had the ability to be easily and accurately sexed at hatching. A bonus was the blue eggs!
The Easter Eggers seem to be the answer to the backyard chicken-keeper’s desire to have an affordable bird that will lay colorful eggs. They are the chicken equivalent of a mutt. Easter Eggers originate from Araucana stock, and carry the blue egg laying gene, but they have been cross bred with so many different chicken breeds that they do not conform to any of American Poultry Association standards. For this same reason, the chickens come in many different colors and feather patterns, and the eggs that they lay will vary in color from shades of blue to green, rose to brown. You won’t know exactly what color of egg your Easter Egger will lay until they actually start laying. They are generally a hardy chicken, tolerating both heat and cold, are friendly, fairly docile, usually on the smaller side. and may or may not have the bearded or tufted features of the Ameraucana.
You can breed your own Easter Eggers if you have a rooster. Let’s talk genetics for a minute here. The blue egg gene is a dominant gene. Each chicken must have a pair (2) of genes that determine the base color of an egg shell. They get one gene from the hen (mom), and one from the rooster (dad). If both parents have one blue egg gene, the chick will have a 75% chance of laying a variation of blue eggs. If only one parent has a blue egg gene, the chick has a 50/50 chance of laying a variation of blue eggs. (For more information, you can look up the Punnett Square which is a diagram used to predict the genotypes of a particular cross or breeding experiment.) Thirteen years ago we were given several bantam Ameraucana hens. Over the years they bred with other roosters and produced offspring. As of today, I still have three hens that lay a variation of blue/green eggs, and several rooster that display the beard and ear tufts of the Ameraucana breed. I have five chicks from two of the hens and I am curious to see if any of them will lay colored eggs. One of the babies appears to have tufted cheeks and a beard, much like her mom, which again are features of the Ameraucana.
The blue egg gene is not just an egg shell covering. All eggs start out white in color. Pigments are deposited on the eggs during their 26 hour journey through the hen’s oviduct. Ameraucana chickens have the pigment oocyanin deposited on their eggs. This pigment permeates the eggshell, so the inside of the egg as well as the outside is blue. Chickens that lay brown eggs deposit a pigment called protoporphyrin on the egg late in process of the eggshell formation. This results in only the exterior of the egg being colored brown, the interior is still white. With the Olive Eggers, a brown pigment is layered over a blue egg, giving it a rich olive coloration.
Egg coloration is fascinating to me and I think a bowl full of different colored eggs is fun and attractive. I hope this information is helpful in deciding what chicken breeds you might add to your flock.
Sources:
http:// https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/why_are_chicken_eggs_different_colors
http:// https://www.wideopenpets.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-cream-legbar-chicken/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punnett_square