Eggshell color question

[akashia26]

what gives eggs shell their color. this is a serious question. so please no white chicken white eggs. i have seen green eggs but never green chickens. is it melanin like in human skin or what?

 

[Glenmar]

Genetics. Color is applied to the egg just before being layed..

I read the whole process quite a while ago.
Maybe someone else will remember the more technical details.

 

[tadkerson]

The brown color on an egg is due to a pigment called protoporphyrin-IX. This pigment is made from parts of old blood cells that are no longer functional. The blue pigment in a shell is caused by biliverden-lX which is also made from old blood cells. White eggs do not have any pigment on them.

Melanin production is completely different and has no relationship with egg shell pigmentation.

Tim