Chicken Facts-Egg Color

I've been, as of late coming across a few articles where whoever wrote them clearly didn't research what they were writing about.  I really don't feel like creating an account at each site to comment so I'm simply going to compile the articles here, on this blog, with corrections.

Some time last month I read an article on yahoo news about egg color, if the colors matter, what it means.  In the article I read it stated that brown eggs come from brown chickens, white from white chickens and that was the only difference.  I will agree with the article, there is no nutrition difference between white, brown, chocolate (colored), olive, pink, or green/blue eggs. 

The nutrition in the egg comes from the feed the chicken eats, and how healthy she is.  It's very easy for a consumer to see how healthy their eggs are, when they crack them open what color is the yolk?  Most of your store bought eggs come from hens in cages that get fed a laying feed designed to get them to lay as many eggs as possible, on these you should notice the yolk will be a light yellow color.  On your true free range eggs you'll notice the color of the yolk is orange, a very bright happy shade of orange.  The reason for this is because free range hens are able to eat grass, veggies, bugs, and other yummy things chickens like to eat so they have more nutrients for their eggs, plus they get out in the sun and naturally get more vitamin D.  Healthier hen, brighter colored egg yolks.

Now, as for the egg color, what does that all mean?  While it's true some colored hens do lay certain colored eggs, for example Road Island Reds will lay brown eggs, and White Leghorns will lay white eggs, the chicken's color does not determine the egg color.  Brown Leghorns still lay white eggs, White Rocks and Road Island Whites both lay brown eggs.  What then makes an egg the color it is?  All brown eggs are really white.  If you crack one open you'll notice inside of the shell it's white, not brown.  The reason it appears brown is when hens lay eggs they 'paint' them brown.  If you get a fresh laid brown egg you can sometimes wipe off the brown coloring and see the white egg underneath.  It's kinda cool and I've actually done it a few times cleaning eggs from my hens.  Sometimes, like a printer a brown egg layer will run low on pigment and the brown eggs will turn out speckled, lighter then normal, or half painted.  Nothing is wrong with the egg, the flavor will still be fine she just 'ran out of ink'.

 What about those blue/green/pink eggs then? Those eggs are really that color, if you crack one open you'll see the inside of the shell is the same color as the outside of the shell.  This is due to a genetic trait in that breed of chicken due to selective breeding.  Nothing is wrong with the eggs the hens are just breed to lay them that way.