5 Chickens to Raise for Colored Eggs

 

What happens when you cross awesome chickens with colored eggs?

You get something fan-freakin-tastic that has both beauty and functionality.

Breakfast just got a little more interesting, and now every day feels like spring.

For a frugal way to add beauty to your day, consider adding colored egg layers to your flock. Here’s 5 popular choices:

 

 

1. Marans. Marans lay brown eggs, and can lay anything from a light brown egg to the coveted chocolate-colored chicken egg. There’s a lot of Maran varieties to choose from, from cuckoo marans to black copper marans.  I have a cuckoo maran and blue copper marans, and hope to add some black copper maran hens this year. My cuckoo maran is a sweet, tame bird who enjoys human interaction.

2. Easter Eggers. Easter eggers lay colored eggs from green to blue, and any shade in between, and occasionally pink. They’re not a breed, but a cross between any chicken breeds that have the blue egg laying gene. If you like surprises, Easter Eggers are a great choice for multi colored chicken eggs.

3. Olive Eggers. Olive eggers are a cross between a blue egg laying breed and a dark egg laying breed (like Marans). Like Easter Eggers, olive eggers aren’t a true breed, but a hybrid. As their name implies, their eggs are a gorgeous olive green.

4. Ameraucanas. This is a breed that lays blue eggs. Not to be confused with Araucanas (which originated in Chile), Ameraucanas can lay different shades of blue eggs, making them a nice mix with Easter Eggers and Olive Eggers in your morning egg basket.

5. Welsummer – Similar to Marans, Welsummers are known for their dark brown eggs. They lay shades of brown, from terracotta to chocolate. Sometimes the eggs also have pretty speckles, making them an interesting addition!

Bonus: Cream Legbars. To add even more pastel colors to your day, consider Cream Legbars. They have the Araucana genes, so they lay blue, green, or olive eggs.

If you like variety, any one (or all, you know you want them all) of these choices are a great fit!

 

 

Special thanks to Gingersnap Farm for letting me include some of your photos! Check them out at http://www.barnyardmixchicks.com/

Until next time!

 

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