Why are most commercial eggs white?

[luvmychicknkids]

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But, in all seriousness, my roosters are too stubborn to lay eggs. *sigh* I wish someone could tell me how to get them over this attitude of theirs.

 

[Henrietta23]

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Yup, the Egg Board did a big promo in the 70s (I think) and we heard it here in CT too. I think it was all of New England, if not nationwide. I grew up believing white eggs were shipped cross country and brown eggs were from local farms. A lot of people here still believe that. In our grocery stores I find that the eggs available are about 50/50 white and brown.

 

[Darin115]

I visited the grocery store the other day to pick up something. I passed the egg cooler and just browsed the egg prices to make sure I am selling fresh eggs for much higher.

The white eggs were 99 cents per dozen. The brown eggs we $1.59 a dozen. I wondered why that was.

If I am reading this thread correctly, I see that brown layers do not have the feed/egg conversion as the white layers do. I guess that is the reason for the higher price.

Also, there is a guy that buys pullets at 20 weeks of age from chicken companies that have left over pullets. He sells them for $5.75 each. He also gets roos but will give them away if you purchase pullets. He mainly sells red and black sex links but occasionally he will get a load of white leghorns.

I bought 10 white leghorns last year to go with my white leghorns I have at home. I noticed a huge difference in mine and his. His pullets were about 1/2 the size of mine. I figured it was because of the age. But by the end of the Summer they were still much smaller. They laid more eggs than my hens but just was not the pretty bird I have. I sold them in the Fall.

My buddy has black sexlinks. His neighbor bought 25 black sexlinks from the same guy a few weeks ago. He said last night that he did not think they looked as good as his. He said they are smaller and just not as fluffy as his.

Now after reading this thread I understand that they are called white leghorns and Black Sexlinks but are breed differently by teh commercial companies.

I like my birds better. They are beautiful birds. The commercial birds are just plain looking but I guess they are designed for maximum egg output, not their looks.

Learn something every day!!!!!


Darin

 

[Year of the Rooster]

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That's why they call it "Chocolate" Milk

Thank you, one more question, does skim milk come from skinny cows?

I think skim milk is just milk without all the fat

Think of it as.. "diet" milk

 

[Bluemoon420]

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Yup, the Egg Board did a big promo in the 70s (I think) and we heard it here in CT too. I think it was all of New England, if not nationwide. I grew up believing white eggs were shipped cross country and brown eggs were from local farms. A lot of people here still believe that. In our grocery stores I find that the eggs available are about 50/50 white and brown.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers it

That is what I was told also. White eggs were shipped across country, and brown eggs were from local farms.
My uncle had ( well still has) a farm in North Kingston. We always had Rhode Island Reds for chickens. I had never seen anything but brown eggs until we visited family in Indiana. They had white eggs

Bluemoon

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
Yup, the Egg Board did a big promo in the 70s (I think) and we heard it here in CT too. I think it was all of New England, if not nationwide. I grew up believing white eggs were shipped cross country and brown eggs were from local farms. A lot of people here still believe that. In our grocery stores I find that the eggs available are about 50/50 white and brown.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers it

That is what I was told also. White eggs were shipped across country, and brown eggs were from local farms.
My uncle had ( well still has) a farm in North Kingston. We always had Rhode Island Reds for chickens. I had never seen anything but brown eggs until we visited family in Indiana. They had white eggs

Bluemoon

I'm about a half hour from the Rhode Island border! We didn't have chickens as kids though. However, my mother from Upstate NY did and she grew up with chickens. She bought only brown eggs. So that's what I was used to. Now I have brown, white and green layers! I have to say, I really have a preferrence for the green ones. I swear they taste better. All my birds eat the same so I know it's just in my head!

 

[Krys109uk]

If I am reading this thread correctly, I see that brown layers do not have the feed/egg conversion as the white layers do. I guess that is the reason for the higher price.

Egg colour & chicken size are not linked nor is the feed conversion ratio. They are controlled by separate genes which are not, necessarily, inherited together.

 

[Bluemoon420]

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers it

That is what I was told also. White eggs were shipped across country, and brown eggs were from local farms.
My uncle had ( well still has) a farm in North Kingston. We always had Rhode Island Reds for chickens. I had never seen anything but brown eggs until we visited family in Indiana. They had white eggs

Bluemoon

I'm about a half hour from the Rhode Island border! We didn't have chickens as kids though. However, my mother from Upstate NY did and she grew up with chickens. She bought only brown eggs. So that's what I was used to. Now I have brown, white and green layers! I have to say, I really have a preferrence for the green ones. I swear they taste better. All my birds eat the same so I know it's just in my head!

Brown eggs are just a new england thing. My chicks won't be laying until this summer, but I will have blue, and brown eggs

I guess old habits die hard. I won't even buy white eggs at the store.

 

[pascopol]

From everything I've read here (and in my own experience), the best layers are brown egg layers. So why is it that the cheap commercial eggs are white? What kinds of birds are they using?


Lots of misleading an inaccurate info on this thread.

Commercial eggs are are white, because most of US consumer is used to white eggs, Part of NE being the exemption, in New England brown eggs are still preferred.

Color of egg shells is tided to genetics and breed not to what the birds are fed.

Commercial white egg layers are selected Leghorn strains, not some mysterious hybrids.

There is an "scientific" opinion that taste and color of the yolk of egg has nothing to do with egg shell, but depends solely on the feed.

This is highly controversial, and I have evidence to the contrary.

Friend of mine has 5 acres of pasture, part of it is cypress wetland. She's got white egg layers (california whites, Spitzhaubens) and brown egg layers mostly Orps and cuckou Marans.

Marans and orps yolks are more orange than white eggs, all birds are fed same food and forage the same pasture.

So genetics do affect yolk color and perhaps the taste, but taste can be subjective, color difference is obvious.

 

[Eastins Eggs]

Having been in the some what commercial free range business for some time, this is the main reason most commercial eggs are white. They are easier to candle then brown shelled eggs.