Egg colour

[James]

Does anyone know why eggs are a certain colour?

Why are some white and some brown? We have 1 white, 1 speckled and 1 brown and 1 brown/white. They all lay light brown, but I remember hearing that white hens lay white eggs - which is rubbish.

Can you tell what colour and hen egg will be by looking at the hen?

[Mo]

I've found that the paler my hens the paler the eggs.
I got 2 sorts of hybrids, 2 of each last time, but asked him to pick out ones I could tell apart, one is a creamy white, lays white eggs. The one that was 'the same' but had more brown flecks, lays a pale brown or whitish egg. the two brown hens lay brown eggs but the one with more white on her shoulders lays paler.

[wendy]

Haven't the foggiest.
All my ex battery girls have very pale eggs and I am sure they are different breeds. My two orpingtons have quite dark eggs.
Wendy

[melons]

It's all t do with the colour of their ears, pale ears = pale eggs, dark ears = dark eggs, it's a rough & ready guide, but that's how you tell
Having said all that, one of mine does speckled eggs & there's no way she has speckled ears, so it isn't a totally exact science just a guide.

[Tania]

There is an indication of egg colour for pure breeds HERE

[James]

Ok thanks

I did not know they had ears - I will have to take a closer look.

That website is quite good, i have never seen a blue egg before.

[Aletea]

I was told the darker the hen, the darker the egg. My white hen lays browner eggs than my blue hen - go figure!

[mudshark]

My 2 ex-batts that I got a few days ago look the same(!) but one is bigger. The bigger one lays slightly bigger eggs than the other and they're almost white whilst the other ones are brown. Curious.

[leah S]

I have two hens of the same breed one lay's blue eggs and the other a normal ish colour and i have one hen that lays double yokers every time the other eggs i don't no who lays what

[Oolalula]

I've read the free ranging birds tend to lay pale eggs. Also if they're a bit delayed or something they can go pinkish or purplish in colour.

Ours do a broad spectrum of pales and browns, Pattie is not laying at the moment (not sure if she ever will again, hope so) and she used to do spectacularly pointed and speckled eggs! Yoko's were massive but she's since developed sterile EYP and manages quite well with it. Cyn's eggs were a perfect classic egg shape and brown, whereas Maureen does midbrown good large eggs. When we sell the eggs from the garden gate, I always write the name of the hen who laid them along with the date, a nice personal touch I think

[lou]

Oolalula how lovely

[Binxie]

Well one of my chickens lay a lovely light greeny blue egg & shes not the least bit blue in colour.lol...