Green Eggs?

[TeaHerbMilkSoap]

Hi,

I recently joined this group to learn about raising chickens. I don't have my own yet, but a few years ago, while at a farmer's market, there was a woman selling eggs with a green shell. She told me the name of the breed, but I have since forgotten the name. I'm sure someone here knows and I would like to know more about this breed of chicken and its eggs.

Thanks. Jane

 

[Bonquiqui]

The breed is Araucana, sometimes known as Easter Eggers (because of the green and blue tinted eggs). I have a few myself. They are very good layers, small, and definitely have some funky looking eggs! Hope that helps!

Connor

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

Easter Eggers and Araucanas can carry the green egg laying gene. It's always so cool to find the "different" eggs!

 

[TeaHerbMilkSoap]

Thanks for the clarification. I thought the actual name sounded something like "Americana", but wasn't sure. Jane

 

[enola]

Araucanas and Ameraucanas do not lay green eggs. Easter eggers do. Easter eggers are cross bred chickens with a brown egg layer in their back ground.

There is no "green gene". Even green eggs start out as blue eggs, the brown coating the hens body puts on the egg before it is layed causes the egg to turn green.

 

[Laingcroft]

Araucanas and Ameraucanas do not lay green eggs. Easter eggers do. Easter eggers are cross bred chickens with a brown egg layer in their back ground.

There is no "green gene". Even green eggs start out as blue eggs, the brown coating the hens body puts on the egg before it is layed causes the egg to turn green.

Enola is correct. There are no purebred chickens that lay green eggs.

Auracanas are a purebred rumpless chickens with ear tufts that lay blue eggs. They are pretty hard to find.

Ameraucanas are purebred bearded chickens that lay eggs in varying shades of blue, some of which look greenish to the eye.

Americana (aka Easter Eggers) is a marketing term used by some hatcheries to describe their crossbred chickens, most likely from a Ameraucana or an Easter Egg rooster over production breed hens. They lay lots of eggs in a variety of colors but usually burn out by 2.5 years of age. Being essentially mutts, they also come in a variety of feather patterns and colors. It's fun to see how they mature and what color eggs they end up laying.

Olive Eggers are also mutts, typically a cross between Ameraucana and Marans. They lay green eggs like this



And this is the Olive Egger hen that laid it. French Black Copper Marans hen x Lav Ameraucana rooster)




All egg shells are formed from calcium carbonate which is a white substance. Blue eggs are produced when the chicken carries a gene allowing the production of a pigment called oocyanin, a by-product of bile formation. This pigment tints the entire shell all the way through. Brown eggs are the result of a brown pigment, prophyrin, deposited on the outside of a white shell. Prophyrin is derived from haemoglobin in the blood. Excessive scrubbing of brown eggs can remove the brown coating.

A green or olive egg is produced when a blue egg breed carrying the gene for oocyanin is crossed with a brown egg breed carrying the gene for prophyrin production. The brown pigment overlays the blue tinted shell, resulting in some shade of green.

 

[enola]

I forgot to mention that if you look inside the shell of a green egg you will see that it is some shade of blue.