Take Dr. Jeanette’s egg-telligence course! Right now! Mae Mae [my Mother] said, “Don’t buy brown eggs.” Why? I don’t know?! Lo and behold brown eggs crept into my refrigerator overnight! What?! Somebody’s playing a trick on me. After seeing this strange egg-of-a-thing, I asked myself some questions that flooded my mind. “How do eggs get their colors?” I was in for a surprise to find out that eggs come in many different colors, dark brown, white [of course], blue, speckled and not only that the “egg people” are researching to make more colors. Breeds of chickens have big names. Michigan State University [MSU] Extension says egg color is determined by the genetics of the hens. The breed of the hen will indicate what color eggs she will produce. Leghorn chickens lay white eggs. Orpington’s lay brown eggs. Ameraucana produce blue eggs.Dec 29, 2013 What’s the natural colors of eggs? White-feathered chickens with white ear lobes lay white eggs and red-feathered ones with red ear lobes lay brown eggs (this may not apply to all breeds). Certain chickens even lay speckled eggs and blue eggs. Mar 14, 2012 Jeannette Beranger: “If a chicken lays blue eggs, it probably has Araucana in its genetics. …” There are some chickens called: Ameraucanas. Marans. Welsummer and Penedesenca, producing different egg colors.
Ameraucanas have Araucana in them and able to produce blue eggs and other colored eggs too. You’ll have to see which color egg the hen will actually produce since she has the ability to produce multiple different colors. I found all of this really interesting: “how” the eggs got their color. Egg formation takes around 26 hours from start to finish. The eggshell about 20 hours. The egg being colored takes the remaining 5 or so hours. The egg goes through a dye process where a pigment is sprayed on the egg inside the hen. All eggs start off white. It is the internal dyeing process that causes the eggs to change colors. Certain chicken breeds have both the blue and brown pigment. This results in that breed able to produce eggs that are every color of the rainbow. A hen will produce the same colored egg her whole life. The final thing: the egg coloring process is that almost all eggs are only colored on the outside. When you crack open the shell, you will still see white on the inside. But blue eggs are the exception. When they are colored, they turn blue both inside and out. The Dorking is one of the first chickens to be domesticated believed to be back during the Roman Empire. Mixed breeding makes a big difference..put together a blue egglaying chicken and a brown egglaying chicken..what do you get?! a green colour. [www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-19/chemistry-of-eggshell-colour/9455660/Feb 18, 2018] Monnettfarms.com:MyPetChicken.com
Dr. Jeanette Grattan Parker, Superintendent/Founder Today’s Fresh Start Charter Schools 4514 Crenshaw BL, LA,CA 90043 www.todaysfreshstart.org Will You Marry Me? Inquiring Minds Want To Know ©All rights reserved. [email protected]
