What’s the obsession over egg shell color?

[3KillerBs]

I know now that this is wrong, but growing up I was always told that white eggs were "commercial" eggs while brown eggs were "farm" eggs.

Of course all the eggs in ordinary stores are commercially-raised regardless of color and all other claims are just marketing hype (the one with the note about their chickens being fed "an all-natural vegetarian diet" always makes me laugh because there is nothing natural about a vegetarian chicken). With store eggs I buy whatever is cheap because a commercial egg is a commercial egg -- maybe a little fresher or older, but all about the same.

For my home flock I want a variety of egg colors because they're pretty and because if I end up selling eggs people in the wealthy areas where the farmers' markets are pay more for a pretty, multi-colored carton than for just white or just brown.

 

[Fallenone05]

White eggs are easier to candle and remove ones with meat spots or internal defects. It is likely why the grocery stores have mainly white eggs.

As to store eggs all tasting like store eggs, I do not find that to be true.

We eat with our eyes first.
The super cheap eggs are pale and watery. That is unappealing to those who have farm fresh eggs.
I personally have difficulties eating them. Not from the looks but from a physical reaction. I get intense abdominal pain from most store eggs.
I went a decade after moving back into town not eating a single egg. As soon as chickens were made legal here I was on it!
This year my hens are taking a full break. I had to buy eggs. The only ones in the stores here before Thanksgiving were the cheaper eggs. I bought them, made deviled eggs, ate ONE and spent 4 days in pain.
There definitely are differences between eggs of different brands, "free range" vs cage kept.

Going forward I will make certain I have a couple young birds going into every winter.

As to color preferences many people just like all the variety of colors readily available now.

Edited to add: I DID find one brand of store egg I can eat without a reaction. Not cheap at all but certainly superior to other in store eggs.

I wonder if you're allergic to something in the commercial feed, like a lot of soy products or wheats?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

For eating? Its mostly marketing. If you follow food fads, you will no doubt have noticed how every year there is a new "IN" ingredient, that seems to be making its way into every recipe. None of those ingredients are new of course, just that they have fallen out of common use, so they seem fresh and stylish when reintroduced, then as quickly forgotten - but often for great profit for someone along the line.

Broccoli Rabe. Tarragon. Acai Berry. Quinoa. etc etc etc.

Here, brown eggs were associated with "farm fresh" - they seemed rustic to those used to supermarket whites, and happened to coincide with the "buy Local", "organic" "free range/ cage free" movements, which have persisted, so we see more and more brown eggs on the market.

and then we have the rash of chicken keepers, living in town, limited to just a few hens, looking for ways to make their flock different from the Jones's. Some beautiful breeds with little commercial value. bantams (oh, so cute!). Silkies (oh so cute!) really rare breeds (if they were commercially valuable, chances are, they wouldn't be so rare...), and of course... Colored Eggs.

Almost all my layers drop various shades of brown. That's true for all but my pekin ducks. I hate it. Hard to candle. While its a valuable adaption in the wild, its obviously less important in a sheltered, metal roofed, 3/4" thick plywood encased nest box inside a livestock fence, inside an electric fence. My chicken eggs have no need for camouflage. So I'm trying, over the coming years, to breed for something closer to tan/cream. Don't need white, do need to be able to successfully candle, which is hard for me to do late in development with the darker brown eggs.

That's me experience, anyways.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I wonder if you're allergic to something in the commercial feed, like a lot of soy products or wheats?

That is what I figure. It has to be something in their feed.

Whatever it is it is very unpleasant to be in extreme pain from eating a stupid egg.

 

[SueT]

White eggs are easier to candle and remove ones with meat spots or internal defects

I forgot about the candling aspect. I am raising Spitzhaubens and really appreciate ease of candling visibility in white eggs. I just began incubating this year and didn't realize what a difference white made over dark eggs.

 

[DouglasB]

People are brand oriented, competitive creatures. It's Ford vs Chevy, my team or no team, my driver or no driver, whatever they posess or like is "the best". Most get their eggs from the grocery store, until recently, mostly white eggs, with store egg taste, that's what they like. Everything else is bad. It's the nature of the beast.

 

[cmom]

Many of the things you hear are old wives' tales. When you crack open an egg, most of the eggs are white inside the shells, the only difference is the color of the shell. A friend that used to cut my hair had a roommate who said she was allergic to brown eggs. I would take my friend some of my brown and white eggs but her roommate wouldn't touch them. She would only buy Eggland's Best eggs from the store. Go figure...

 

[Offshoreorca]

I started with brown laying breeds and last year added Marans and Ameraucanas for colour. For me it’s more about aesthetics and it’s fun! Ultimately all the eggs from our hens taste the same, but as others here mentioned - it’s great marketing to have colourful eggs!

I do agree that our white laying breeds are so much easier to candle though.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I have only ever had easter eggers. Ever since I thought about getting chickens, I only wanted easter eggers. The were funky looking, not even a breed, and they lay blue, green, and pink eggs. It was all about funky for me.
I do know someone who only eats brown eggs and refuses to buy white, blue, green, or chocolate eggs claiming they taste different.
I personally don't think the farm fresh eggs taste different based on the color of the shell.

 

[SueT]

So yes or no? Are your color-egg layers good producers?