What determines the color of shell on the egg?
The color of egg shell is determined by the genetics of the bird laying the egg. Some breeds of birds lay brown shell eggs while others lay white shell eggs. There are also various degrees of colors and some may be greenish or blue. The color on the shell is added in the latter stages of egg shell formation. The pigment in the color is derived from compounds in the blood. The color of shell is no indicator of the egg quality. It only indicates differences among different breeds of chickens, just like different shades of color in the skin of different chicken breeds. Return to Questions What is the best breed of chickens to raise? The breed of chickens that a producer selects for his flock depends upon the purpose for which the chickens are intended. The types of chicken breeds to select from falls into one of three categories, 1) egg laying stock, 2) meat-type birds and 3) dual purpose breeds. Each type of bird is genetically developed to satisfy the best attributes for which they are
