The other night my mom was telling me a story about my aunt. We raised chickens when I was little and gave fresh eggs to my city dwelling aunt. We had chicks that laid green eggs. We had been giving eggs to my aunt for some time before we found out that she had been throwing them out as soon as she received the package. Why? She thought they were rotten. Eggs were not supposed to be green. All eggs were white in her mind. We had a good laugh about this. It got me to thinking though that many people probably think this. It simply isn’t true. Most of the eggs in the grocery store are white but eggs come in more colors.
What determines the color of the egg shell? The breed of the chicken determines the color of the egg. It is believed that originally all chicken eggs were brown and that chickens were selectively bred to produce lighter and lighter eggs to produce white eggs. There are three main colors of eggs brown, white and shades of blue green. The blue green eggs come from the Aracauna chicken (I believe originally from Chile?) or one the crosses called the Americauna.
One way to tell if your chicken will be a brown layer or egg layer is the ear lobe. A hen with a white earlobe will lay a white egg and a hen with a red earlobe will a colored egg. I have Buff Orpingtons and they are brown egg layers. My girls all have red earlobes.
Do brown eggs taste better than white or vice versa? Nope. The color of the shell has nothing to do with taste. Taste has everything to do with what your hen eats. Chickens allowed to roam around your yard will have much tastier eggs than store bought eggs. The egg yolks will be a darker and richer orange also. They also are shown to be healthier. If you have the ability to raise your own then do. If you have the ability to buy local than do. If not than eggs are still a healthy source of protein from your local grocer.
What determines the color of the egg shell? The breed of the chicken determines the color of the egg. It is believed that originally all chicken eggs were brown and that chickens were selectively bred to produce lighter and lighter eggs to produce white eggs. There are three main colors of eggs brown, white and shades of blue green. The blue green eggs come from the Aracauna chicken (I believe originally from Chile?) or one the crosses called the Americauna.
One way to tell if your chicken will be a brown layer or egg layer is the ear lobe. A hen with a white earlobe will lay a white egg and a hen with a red earlobe will a colored egg. I have Buff Orpingtons and they are brown egg layers. My girls all have red earlobes.
Do brown eggs taste better than white or vice versa? Nope. The color of the shell has nothing to do with taste. Taste has everything to do with what your hen eats. Chickens allowed to roam around your yard will have much tastier eggs than store bought eggs. The egg yolks will be a darker and richer orange also. They also are shown to be healthier. If you have the ability to raise your own then do. If you have the ability to buy local than do. If not than eggs are still a healthy source of protein from your local grocer.
