- Sep 4, 2011
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White Eggs – All chicken eggs start out with white shells made primarily of calcium carbonate. No matter what breed the chicken or what color an egg ultimately ends up being, all eggshells begin as white. The white egg-laying breeds, including Leghorns, Andalusians, Catalanas, Lakenvelders among others, don’t possess any pigment genes, so they lay white eggs. Because Leghorns were specifically bred to eat little and lay a lot, they were the darling of the commercial egg industry and thus the reason why most store bought eggs were primarily white … until recently. The perception that brown eggs are fresher and more nutritious (neither true, by the way!) has led to the introduction of brown eggs to grocery store chains in recent years.
Brown Eggs – The brown egg layers such as Rhode Island and New Hampshire Reds, Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Delawares, Brahmas and Plymouth Rocks, possess brown pigment genes and a brown ‘dye’ is applied (by the hen of course!) to the eggshell fairly late in the laying process; around the last 4-6 hours of the total 26 hours it takes to form the egg. This results in a brown-shelled egg. Interestingly, the inside of a brown egg is always white – the brown dye doesn’t penetrate the shell, leaving the inside the original color.
Blue Eggs – There are three breeds that lay blue eggs: Ameraucanas, Araucanas and Cream Legbars. The blue color is created by oocyanin, which is applied early in the laying process. The blue pigment goes right through the shell, unlike the brown pigment. So blue eggs are blue inside and out.
Green Eggs – Green egg-layers, such as Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers, are created by cross breeding a blue-egg-laying breed and a brown-egg-laying breed and those hens possess both blue and brown genes. Therefore the eggshells are green on the outside (created by mixing blue and brown) and blue on the inside, having been ‘painted’ with both blue and brown dye.
Rob
Brown Eggs – The brown egg layers such as Rhode Island and New Hampshire Reds, Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Delawares, Brahmas and Plymouth Rocks, possess brown pigment genes and a brown ‘dye’ is applied (by the hen of course!) to the eggshell fairly late in the laying process; around the last 4-6 hours of the total 26 hours it takes to form the egg. This results in a brown-shelled egg. Interestingly, the inside of a brown egg is always white – the brown dye doesn’t penetrate the shell, leaving the inside the original color.
Blue Eggs – There are three breeds that lay blue eggs: Ameraucanas, Araucanas and Cream Legbars. The blue color is created by oocyanin, which is applied early in the laying process. The blue pigment goes right through the shell, unlike the brown pigment. So blue eggs are blue inside and out.
Green Eggs – Green egg-layers, such as Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers, are created by cross breeding a blue-egg-laying breed and a brown-egg-laying breed and those hens possess both blue and brown genes. Therefore the eggshells are green on the outside (created by mixing blue and brown) and blue on the inside, having been ‘painted’ with both blue and brown dye.
Rob
