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Key takeaways
- Shell color comes from the hen's genetics and breed, not from feather color or feed.
- Blue layers include Ameraucanas, Araucanas and Cream Legbars. Blue pigment runs through the whole shell.
- Green and olive eggs are a blue shell with a brown coating on top. Olive Eggers are typically bred by crossing a blue layer with a dark brown layer.
- Marans lay the darkest chocolate eggs, and a hen's eggs tend to lighten through her laying cycle until the next molt.
- Easter Eggers vary: each hen lays one consistent color, but you won't know which until she starts laying.
How eggshell color works
The calcium carbonate that makes up an eggshell is white. Color comes from pigments the hen adds as the egg moves through her oviduct, and there are two main ones:
- Blue pigment (biliverdin) is laid down throughout the shell as it forms. Crack a blue egg and the inside of the shell is blue too.
- Brown pigment (protoporphyrin) is added late, mostly on the outer surface. Crack a brown egg and the inside of the shell is much paler.
That gives you a simple way to understand the rainbow basket:
The darker the brown layer over a blue shell, the more olive the egg looks. A light brown coating gives a sage or mint green. A heavy coating gives deep olive.
Shell color doesn't change what's inside. A blue egg and a white egg from hens on the same feed and care are the same food. Yolk color comes from diet, not breed.
Breeds by egg color
The table below is compiled from hatchery and breed references, including My Pet Chicken, Cackle Hatchery and Hobby Farms. Individual hens and strains vary, and hatchery stock can differ from show-quality breeding lines, so treat these as typical colors rather than guarantees.
| Egg color | Breeds | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Ameraucana, Araucana, Cream Legbar | Blue runs through the shell. Cream Legbars are autosexing |
| Blue, green or other (varies) | Easter Egger | Not a standardized breed. Each hen lays one color |
| Green and sage | Favaucana, some Easter Eggers | Light brown coating over blue |
| Olive | Olive Egger (a cross) | Shade ranges from light to dark olive |
| Dark brown to chocolate | Marans, Penedesenca | Marans color lightens through the laying cycle |
| Dark brown, speckled | Welsummer, Barnevelder | Speckling varies by hen |
| Brown and light brown | Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, Orpington and many dual-purpose breeds | The most common backyard color |
| Cream and tinted | Buff Orpington, some Sussex strains | Can show a pinkish hue |
| White | Leghorn, Ancona, Andalusian, Hamburg, Polish, Houdan, Campine | Many are active, flighty birds |
Blue egg layers
Ameraucana
Ameraucanas are an American breed developed for blue eggs, with a beard, muffs and a pea comb. Hatchery listings sometimes blur the line between true Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers, so if you want a reliably blue egg, buy from a hatchery or breeder that sells them as Ameraucanas specifically.
Araucana
Araucanas lay blue eggs and are known for being rumpless (no tail) and, in many birds, having ear tufts. They're less common in hatchery catalogs than Ameraucanas.
Cream Legbar
Cream Legbars lay blue eggs and are autosexing, meaning chicks can be sexed by down color at hatch. That's handy if you live somewhere that bans roosters. Cackle Hatchery lists them as auto-sexing blue egg layers.
Green and olive egg layers
Easter Eggers
Easter Eggers are mixed birds that carry the blue-egg gene. They aren't a standardized breed. My Pet Chicken notes that each Easter Egger hen lays one color, and that color doesn't change from egg to egg, but the color itself can be blue, green, or sometimes other shades. You won't know which until she starts laying.
Olive Eggers
Olive Eggers are a cross, typically between a blue layer (like an Ameraucana or Cream Legbar) and a dark brown layer (like a Marans or Welsummer). The blue shell gets a brown coating, which produces olive. Cackle Hatchery and My Pet Chicken both sell Olive Eggers and note that the shade varies.
Favaucana
My Pet Chicken sells Favaucanas as sage-green layers. They're a cross rather than a standardized breed.
Chocolate and dark brown layers
Marans
Marans are the classic chocolate-egg breed. My Pet Chicken notes a hen's darkest eggs come at the start of her laying cycle and gradually lighten until her annual molt, and that color varies among hens. If a dark egg matters to you, look for breeders who select for egg color.
Welsummer and Barnevelder
Welsummers lay rich dark brown eggs that are often speckled. Barnevelders also lay dark brown eggs, often with a speckled look. Both are calm, practical backyard birds.
Penedesenca
Penedesencas lay very dark reddish-brown eggs. They're a rarer breed, so availability is limited.
White egg layers
Leghorns are the best-known white egg layers and are productive. Anconas, Andalusians, Hamburgs, Polish, Houdans and Campines also lay white eggs, per Hobby Farms. Many white-egg breeds are lighter-bodied and active, so they may prefer a larger run and handle confinement less well. Our chicken breeds by purpose guide covers temperament and production.
How to plan a rainbow egg basket
Step 1: Pick your color palette
Choose one or two breeds from each color group you want. For a small flock, you might go with one blue layer, one olive, one dark brown, one light brown and one white.
Step 2: Check local rules and flock size
A rainbow flock tends to grow. Before you order, check how many chickens to start with and size your coop to match.
Step 3: Check hatchery minimums
Many hatcheries set per-breed minimums, which can make a single hen of each color hard. Some sell assortments, like mixed colored-egg layer packs. See how to order chicks from a hatchery.
Step 4: Order early
Colored-egg breeds are popular. Winter is the time to order for spring.
Step 5: Set expectations
- Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers vary. You'll get a range, not a paint chip.
- Dark eggs lighten. Marans and other dark layers get lighter over the season.
- Production varies by breed. Some colorful breeds lay fewer eggs than production breeds. See heritage vs production layers.
A worked example: five hens, five colors
Say you have room for five standard hens and want the most color. One option:
- Ameraucana for blue.
- Olive Egger for olive.
- Marans for chocolate.
- Buff Orpington for cream or light brown with a pinkish tint.
- Leghorn for white.
That gives you five distinct shades in your egg carton. The Leghorn will likely be the most productive and the most active. The Marans hen's eggs will be darkest in spring and lighter by late summer. If you're selling eggs, a mixed dozen is also a nice selling point. See selling eggs.
Common mistakes
- Buying "Ameraucana" chicks at a feed store and expecting blue. Many feed-store birds labeled that way are Easter Eggers. They're great birds, but colors vary.
- Expecting Marans to stay dark all year.
- Assuming colored eggs taste different. Shell color doesn't change what's inside.
- Going by earlobe color. Breed is the better guide.
Frequently asked questions
What chickens lay blue eggs?
Ameraucanas, Araucanas and Cream Legbars are the best-known blue egg layers. Many Easter Eggers lay blue eggs too, though their colors vary.
What chickens lay green or olive eggs?
Olive Eggers, a cross between a blue layer and a dark brown layer, lay olive eggs. Favaucanas and some Easter Eggers lay green or sage eggs.
What chicken lays the darkest brown eggs?
Marans are known for the darkest chocolate-brown eggs. Penedesencas and Welsummers also lay very dark eggs. Dark eggs tend to lighten through a hen's laying cycle.
Do different colored eggs taste different?
No. Shell color comes from breed genetics and doesn't change what's inside. Yolk color and flavor depend on diet and freshness.
Can you tell egg color by a chicken's earlobes?
Only roughly. White earlobes often go with white eggs and red earlobes with brown eggs, but there are many exceptions. Ameraucanas, for example, lay blue eggs. Breed is a better guide.
Do Easter Eggers lay different colored eggs?
Each Easter Egger hen lays one consistent color, but different hens can lay blue, green or other shades. You won't know a hen's color until she starts laying.