The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Bobby on June 10, 2009, 09:01:43 pm
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This may be a really stupid question - but we are just getting started with some chickens at the weekend. Can anyone clarify what determines the colour of the Eggs. Is it breed or what you feed them or a combination of both
Thanks in advance
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Breed, Bobby. I don't know much about hens, but in the UK the brown eggs are most popular, so most hens you get (Black Rocks, RIRs) lay brown eggs. I don't know which breeds lay white eggs. :&>
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leghorn hybrid white layers and a number of rare breeds. were trying to get a full spectrum of egg colours we have marams for dark eggs, legbars for blue and olive eggs and a number of others that lay white or cream, its all down to gentics. All eggs are the same inside so it really does not matter
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if you google hen egg colours you might get a list from someone. or try the practical poultry forum.
I get pale beige eggs from light sussuex, hybrids, ixworths and faverolles. darker brown eggs from marans and welsummers. white eggs from leghorn hybrids. pale blue/green eggs from legbars and legbar hybrids.
I just like to see a tray of multicoloured eggs. They all look the same in the pan.
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Last time I went onto a poultry forum they said that eggs are always the same colour as the feathers under a hens ears!
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Would that apply to ducks, too? I wonder if the Indian runner has blue feathers under her ears, but I doubt it. I'll have a look if I get that close to her ,lol :&>
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I'm off to check my girls now!
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some chickens have similar coloured lobes as the egg they lay. ie minorca, legbar vorwerk. but my marans don't have brown lobes.
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Hi Bobby
You find find this link interesting:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html (http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html)
My Minorcas lay lovely big chalky white eggs. So do Leghorns and Dorkings (though my Dorkings lay an ever-so-slightly creamy egg with a bit of a shine :chook:)
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Its funny that in UK the preference is for brown eggs as they are seen tobe more wholesome. Whilst in the US its white as they are seen to be more pure ;D I personally like a mixture of coulors from blue to dark brown.