Egg colour is hugely subjective and often he source of much disagreement among keepers. A friend and I often argue over eggs I would call cream but he reckons are brown.
The colour of the egg is the result of pigments being deposited during or after shell formation inside the oviduct of the chicken.
Egg colour is genetic and can vary between hens of the same breed and even from the same hen over the course of a laying season.
Please bear in mind that this is a general guide and there is a great deal of variation between hens of the same breed.All egg shells are made from calcium carbonate and are either white or blue with all other colours being produced by various shades of pigments laid down on the surface of the egg as it is being made.
The brown pigment that is laid down on the surface of the egg is called protoporphyrin IX, which is an iron compound similar to the haemoglobin in your blood.
Picture courtesy of Magners farm.
Breed of hen | Egg shell colour | Egg image | Egg size | Productivity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Altsteirer | White / Ivory. | ![]() |
Large. | 180 / 200 eggs per year. |
Ameraucana |
Light blue. |
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Medium. |
150 / 180 eggs per year. |
Ancona | White. | ![]() |
Large. | 240 / 260 eggs per year. |
Andalusian | White. | ![]() |
Large. | 220 / 240 eggs per year. |
Appenzeller Spitzhauben. | White | ![]() |
Large. | 180 / 200 eggs per year. |
Arucuana. | Blue / Blue-green. |
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Large. | 150 / 180 eggs per year |
Asil / Aseel. |
Tinted /Cream / Light brown. |
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Medium. |
40 to 70 eggs per year. Very
seasonal layers. |
Augsburger. | White. | ![]() |
Large. |
150 / 180 eggs per year. |
Ayam Cemani. |
White. | ![]() |
Small. | 70 to 90 eggs per year. |
Barnevelder.
|
Dark Brown. |
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Large. | Mine laid and average of 186 in
their first year. |
Black Rock . |
Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 260 /260 eggs per year. Colour
fades over the season and the years. |
Booted Bantam. |
White / Tinted. | ![]() |
Small. |
100 / 120 eggs per year. |
Bovans Hybrids. | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 260 / 290 eggs per year. |
Brabanter. | White. | Large. | 140 / 160 eggs per year. |
|
Brahma.
|
Tinted / Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 140 / 160 eggs per year. |
Brakel. | White. | Small. | 180 eggs per year. |
|
Breda | Cream / White. |
Medium. |
160 to 180 eggs per year. |
|
Bresse. | White. | ![]() |
Large. | 160/180 eggs per year. Highly
seasonal layers. |
Burford Brown |
Brown. |
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Large. |
160 / 180 eggs per year. |
Campine. | White. | ![]() |
Medium. | 150 to 170 eggs per year. |
Cinnamon
Queens. |
Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 260 / 280 eggsper year. |
Cochin. |
Cream / Light brown. |
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Medium. |
160 eggs a year. |
Cream Legbar. | Blue-green. |
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Large. | 160 / 180 eggs per year. |
Crevecoeur. | White. | ![]() |
Medium. | 120 eggs per year. |
Croad Lansghan. | Brown / Pink or purple depending on bloom. |
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Large. | 140 to 160 eggs per year. |
Derbyshire Redcap. | White. | ![]() |
Large. | 200 eggs per year. |
Dominique. | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 220 / 240 eggs per year. |
Dorking | White / Tinted. |
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Medium. | 140 /150 eggs per year. |
Dutch Bantam | White / cream. |
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Small. | 140 / 160 eggs per year. |
Easter eggers. | Green / blue / Various. | ![]() |
Large. | 180 / 200 eggs per year. |
Faverolles. | Light brown / pink. |
Medium. | 220 /240 eggs a year. |
|
Fayoumi. | Cream / Tinted. |
Medium. | 150 eggs per year. |
|
Friesian | White. | Small. | 220 eggs per year. |
|
Frizzle. | White / Tinted. |
|
Small. | 120 to 140 eggs per year. |
German bush fowl. |
Green. |
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Medium. |
160 to 180 eggs per year. |
German Langshan. |
Brown | ![]() |
Large. | 180 eggs per year. |
Golden comets. | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 240+ eggs per year. |
Gold tops. | White / cream. |
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Small. |
120 / 140 eggs per year. |
Hamburg. |
White. | Medium. | 140 eggs per year. |
|
Houdan. | White. | Medium. | 150 eggs per year. | |
Hy-Line. | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 240 / 260 eggs per year. |
Indian (Cornish) Game. |
Brown / light brown. |
Small. | 160 / 180 eggs per year. |
|
ISA Brown | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 240 / 260 eggs per year. |
Ixworth. | Cream / Tinted. |
Medium. |
240 / 260 eggs per year.
|
|
Japanese Bantam. | Cream /Tinted. |
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Small / tiny. |
100 to 140 eggs per year. |
Jersey Giant. | Brown /Light brown. |
Large. | 240 / 260 eggs per year. |
|
Ko-Shamo. | Light brown. | Small. | 140 / 160 eggs per year. |
|
Kraienkoppe. | Cream / Tinted. |
Medium. | 200 eggs per year. |
|
Lakenvelder. |
White. | ![]() |
Medium. | 150 to 170 eggs per year. |
Leghorn. |
White. |
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Large. | 260 / 280 eggs per year. |
La Fleche. | White. |
Large. | 150 /160 eggs per year. |
|
Lohmann Brown. | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 260 / 280 eggs per year. |
Malay. | Light brown / Cream. |
Medium. | 120 eggs per year. |
|
Marans.
|
Very dark brown. |
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Large. | 140 / 160 eggs per year. |
Marsh Daisy. | Tinted / Cream. |
Small. | 220 to 250 eggs per year. |
|
Minorca. | White. | Large. | 120 to 160 eggs per year. |
|
Modern Game. | White. | Medium. | 50 to 70 eggs per year. |
|
Modern Langshan. | Brown. | Medium. | 150 eggs per year. |
|
Nankin. | White / tinted. |
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Small. | 80 to 100 eggs per year. |
New Hampshire Red. | Brown / light brown. |
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Large. |
260+ eggs per year. |
Norfolk Grey. | Tinted / cream. |
Medium. | 200 / 220 eggs a year. |
|
North Holland Blue. | Light brown. |
Large | 150 to 170 eggs a
year. |
|
Old English Game. | Tinted / Cream. |
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Medium. | 150 to 170 eggs a year. |
Old English Pheasant Fowl. | White. | ![]() |
Large. | 200 eggs a year. |
Olive eggers. | Olive green. Various shades. |
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Large. | 160 to 180 eggs per year. |
Orpington. |
Light brown. |
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Large. | 180 to 200 eggs per year. |
Pekin. | Light brown. |
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Small. | 100 eggs per year. |
Penedesenca |
Dark brown. |
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Medium. |
150 eggs a year. |
Plymouth Rock. | Light brown / Brown. |
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Large. | 260 to 280 eggs per year. |
Poland. | White. | ![]() |
Medium. | 200 eggs a year. |
Rhode Island Red. | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 220 / 240 eggs per year. |
Rhodebar. | Tinted / cream. |
Large. | 200 eggs per year. |
|
Rosecomb. | White / tinted. |
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Small. | 100 to 120 eggs a year. |
Rumpless Araucana. | Blue. | ![]() |
Medium. | 160 to 180 eggs a year. |
Rumpless Game. | Cream / Tinted. |
Medium. | 160 to 180 eggs per year. |
|
Russian Orloff. |
Light brown. |
Medium. | 100 to 120 eggs per year. |
|
Scots Dumpy. | Cream / Tinted. |
Large. | 180 eggs per year. |
|
Scots Grey. | Cream. |
Large. | 140 / 160 eggs per year. |
|
Sebright. | White. | ![]() |
Small. | 50 to 70 eggs a year. |
Serama |
White / Light brown. |
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Tiny |
50 to 70 eggs a year. |
Shamo. | Brown. Light brown. |
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Medium. | 80 Eggs per year. |
Sicilian Buttercup. | White. | ![]() |
Small. | 180 eggs per year. |
Silkie. | Tinted / cream. |
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Small. | 80 / 120 eggs per year. |
Spanish. White faced black. |
White. |
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Large | 180 eggs per year. |
Speckledy. | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 180 / 200 eggs per year. |
Sulmtaler. | Cream / Light brown. |
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Medium | 120 / 140 eggs per year. |
Sultan. | White. | ![]() |
Small. | 50 / 70 eggs per year. |
Sumatra. | White. | ![]() |
Medium. | 100 / 120 eggs per year. |
Sussex. | White / cream. |
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Large. | 220 /240 eggs per year. |
Transylvanian Naked Neck. | Cream / Light brown. |
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Medium. | 100 /120 eggs per year. |
Vorwerk. | White. |
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Large. | 200 / 220 eggs per year. |
Welbar. | Brown. | ![]() |
Large. | 180 / 200 eggs per year. |
Welsummer. | Dark Brown. |
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Large |
140 / 160 eggs per year. |
White Star. | White. | ![]() |
Large. |
260 / 280 eggs per year. |
Wyandotte. | Cream / brown. |
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Large. | 180 / 200 eggs per year. |
Wybar. |
Tinted. | ![]() |
Large. | 180 / 200 eggs per year. |
Yokohama | White / Tinted. |
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Medium. | 80 / 120 eggs per year. |