Colorful Chicken Eggs: Which Breeds Lay What Color

Colorful chicken eggs seem to look so pretty when on display at the local farm stand. People seem drawn to the baskets of colorful eggs. But do you know which breeds lay which color eggs?

All chicken eggs actually start off as pure white shells believe it or not. But when they travel down the oviduct, a pigment is added to the egg. What color pigment is determined by which breed. If while traveling the egg rotates slowly, the egg becomes speckled. If the egg rotates quickly it becomes one solid color.

So how do you know what breeds to order in order to receive the color of your choice? Below are listed the different breeds and which colors they lay. Most hatcheries will tell you in their descriptions of each chicken breed which color those birds are expected to lay.

Some of the breeds below belong in more than one color category so they are listed wherever they are relevant.

Colorful Chicken Eggs By Color

Brown Eggs:

Rhode Island Reds
Golden Comet
Jersey Giant
Plymouth Rock
Brahma
Chantecler
Dominique
Delaware
New Hampshire Red
Cochin
Buckeye
Java

Cream Eggs:

Faverole
Dorking
Easter Egger

Light Tan Eggs:

Buff Orpington
Wyandotte

White Eggs:

Leghorn
Campine
Andalusian
Sicilian Buttercup
Hamburg
Polish
Minorca
Belgian D’uccle
Sablepoot
Catalana
Orloff
Lakenvelder
Sebright
Silkie
Spanish White Face

Pink Eggs:

Australorpes
Easter Eggers
Langshan
Plymouth Rock
Asil
Barred Rock
Light Sussex

Green Eggs:

Easter Eggers
Olive Eggers

Chocolate Brown Eggs:

Black Copper Marans
Blue Copper Marans
Barnvelder
Penedesenca

Speckled Eggs:

Cuckoo Marans
Welsummer

Blue Eggs:

Araucana
Cream Legbar
Ameracauna
Isbar
Cuckoo Legbar

Having colorful chicken eggs is a joy. By using the list above you can choose which chicken breeds to purchase in order to have the colors you wish to see. Have fun and bring a rainbow of eggs in your home.

For more information on chickens see Raising Baby Chickens and Adult Chickens on Your Homestead

Also, check out Fascinating Egg Facts by the Chicken Chic!

This post is shared on Good Morning Mondays Linky Party.