{"id":13385,"date":"2022-05-07T09:32:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-07T15:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=13385"},"modified":"2022-05-05T14:39:27","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T20:39:27","slug":"why-are-eggs-different-colors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=13385","title":{"rendered":"Why are Eggs Different Colors?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eggs-ploring why chicken eggs are laid in different colors, shapes, and shades<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Different chicken breeds lay eggs in different colors or shades. The darker the feathers, the more likely the hen will lay a brown or darker-colored egg. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Laura McKenzie)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Written by Paul Schattenberg<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever been curious about why chicken eggs can be different colors? While most eggs are white or brown, they also come in colors like cream, pink, blue and green. In addition \u2014 and this is no \u201cyolk\u201d \u2014 some are even speckled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Nature has provided chickens with diverse color patterns for their feathers, skin patches and eggshells for various purposes, including camouflage, protection from predators and to signal individual identity.
According to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service poultry specialist, the color of an egg is mainly determined by the chicken\u2019s genetics. That means the breed of hen will usually indicate what color of egg will be produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


For example, Leghorn chickens lay white eggs, while Orpington\u2019s lay brown eggs and Ameraucana lay blue eggs. And the \u201colive egger\u201d breed lays \u2026 wait for it \u2026 olive-green eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


But appearances aside, all chicken eggs have no major differences in taste or nutritional composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chicken earlobes help predict egg color
<\/strong>You\u2019ve got to hear this \u2026 a good way to guess what color eggs a chicken will lay is to take a gander at the hen\u2019s ear lobes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While genetics is the main reason for egg color, other factors may influence an egg\u2019s size, shape or shading. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Laura McKenzie)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cGenerally, hens with white earlobes will produce white eggs,\u201d said Gregory Archer, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension specialist in the Department of Poultry Science, Bryan-College Station. \u201cBut all eggs start out white because the shells are made from calcium carbonate. They get their color from the hen\u2019s genetics as the egg forms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Archer said, more often than not, chickens with lighter earlobes also have white feathers and produce white eggs. Those with colored feathers and darker earlobes will likely produce colored eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chicken egg formation
<\/strong>Nature has its own way of coloring eggs, and it doesn\u2019t require boiling water, food coloring or paintbrushes. Let\u2019s eggs-plore how this happens. Different eggshell colors come from pigments deposited onto the shell as the egg forms in the hen\u2019s oviduct. The oviduct is a tube-like organ found along the hen\u2019s backbone between the ovary and the tail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


A chicken yolk, or ovum, forms in the hen\u2019s ovaries. A fully formed ovum leaves the ovary and makes its way into the oviduct. There, it goes through a five-stage process to help ensure the yolk makes it safely to the outside world. The entire egg-forming process usually takes a little more than 24 hours.
It\u2019s during the fourth stage of this process involving the shell gland that pigments are deposited onto the shell, producing its color. So, in short, different breeds of chicken deposit different pigments on the shell as it forms, changing its exterior \u2014 and sometimes its interior \u2014 shell color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A pigment of your imagination
<\/strong>White Leghorn chickens lay white-shelled eggs and breeds like Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island reds lay brown-shelled eggs. The shells are brown because a pigment known as protoporphyrin is deposited onto the shell. But because this happens late in the process of shell formation, the pigment doesn\u2019t penetrate the shell\u2019s interior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThis is why when you crack open a brown egg, you will see the interior of most of the shells remains white,\u201d Archer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


A pigment called oocyanin is deposited on the egg of the Ameraucana breed, penetrating both the exterior and interior of the shell and making them blue. Other breeds such as Araucana, Dongxiang and Lushi lay blue or blue-green eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


An olive egger results from a cross between a hen and rooster from a brown-egg-laying and a blue-egg-laying breed. The hen produces a brown pigment that penetrates the blue shell of the egg, resulting in a greenish-hued egg. The darker the brown pigment, the more olive-colored the egg appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Other chickens that lay colored eggs include the Easter egger, barred rock, Welsummer and Maran, with the color of the egg depending on the breed and its genetics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cI believe Easter eggers lay the most fun and interesting eggs,\u201d said Garrett Webb, a Texas 4-H member in Fancy Feathers 4-H, part of the Kyle 4-H club. \u201cEach bird lays a different colored egg. The eggs can be blue, green, pink or a blue-green mix.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Webb, who is this year\u2019s Fancy Feathers Poultry Show director, said Easter eggers are mixed Ameraucana or Araucana breeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cEaster eggers can be any other breed mixed with either of these two main breeds,\u201d he said. \u201cA hen only lays one color of egg her whole life. She does not change colors. If she starts laying blue eggs, her eggs will always be blue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some speculation about speckled eggs
<\/strong>As it turns out, the speckles on speckled eggs are just extra calcium deposits. One reason for the speckled-egg spectacle is that speckles are formed when the egg-shaping calcification process is disturbed. Another possible reason is a defect in the shell gland. Then again, it could result from excess calcium in the hen\u2019s system. Sound a little scrambled? Don\u2019t worry about it \u2026 just keep your sunny side up and know there\u2019s probably more than one explanation for this speck-tacular occurrence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Oh, and although technically considered \u201cabnormal,\u201d speckled shells have been shown to sometimes be stronger than the regular kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Egg-straneous factors change shell color, shape
<\/strong>While genetics primarily determine egg color, other factors can also influence the color and other characteristics of the shell. These factors include a hen\u2019s age, diet, environment and stress level.
\u201cAs they age, hens that lay brown-colored eggs may start to lay larger and lighter-colored eggs,\u201d Archer said. \u201cBut though this may produce an egg of a lighter or darker shade, it will not alter the egg\u2019s basic color.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


While not directly associated with color, an oddly or irregularly shaped egg may occasionally pop out. This may result from a problem during the hen\u2019s egg-forming process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Archer said both very old and very young hens are the most likely to lay abnormally shaped eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cStress factors like disease, heat or overcrowding may also affect the hen and impact the size, shape and quality of the egg,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot also depends on the amount of calcium the hen has in its body and can provide for the egg-making processes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A display of some of the different colored eggs hens may lay. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Susan Himes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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All things yolk: Color, nutrients and double yolks
<\/strong>You may also be wondering if the color of the egg affects the color of the yolk. Well, it doesn\u2019t, but the hen\u2019s diet certainly does. For example, if a pasture-raised hen eats plants with yellowish-orange pigmentation, the yolks can take on a more orange color. If she eats mainly a corn- or grain-based diet, the yolk is more likely to be a pale yellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Here\u2019s a little egg-stra information for you. Research shows that darker, more colorful yolks have the same amount of protein and fat as lighter yolks. However, studies have shown that eggs from pasture-raised hens can have more omega-3s and vitamins as well as less cholesterol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Speaking of yolks \u2026 this will crack you up. Sometimes an egg will have two yolks. While some people think a double yolk is good luck, the reason is more mishap than fortune. A double yolk is a fluke that occurs when a hen ovulates too rapidly, releasing two yolks, usually about an hour apart. These yolks go into the oviduct and eventually wind up in the same shell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Hormonal changes or a hyperactive ovary will also cause these double releases. These \u201cdouble-yolkers\u201d are most common among younger chickens due to their reproductive systems not yet being fully developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Where can you learn more about chickens and eggs? Well, you could go to the \u201chen-cyclopedia\u201d of course. But if you don\u2019t have one handy, visit the AgriLife Extension website https:\/\/tx.ag\/ChickensEggs for more information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eggs-ploring why chicken eggs are laid in different colors, shapes, and shades Written by Paul Schattenberg Have you ever been curious about why chicken eggs can be different colors? While most eggs are white or brown, they also come in colors like cream, pink, blue and green. In addition \u2014 and this is no \u201cyolk\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13385"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13390,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13385\/revisions\/13390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}