Why do some chickens lay brown eggs, and some white, and some blue?
There are two major lines of breeding in the chicken family tree: the Asian breeds, and the European breeds. The Asian chicken breeds are typically of a heavier build, calmer temperament, and have red earlobes and they lay brown-shelled eggs. The European breeds are typically lighter in frame, have a flighty or nervous temperament, and have white earlobes and lay white-shelled eggs. Auracanas are special they are a breed from the Andes region in South America. In addition to having red earlobes, fluffy muffs of feathers on their cheeks, and being heavy-set, their eggs have blue/green shells. (My personal theory about Auracanas is that they are closely related to pheasants, which also have green eggs. Meat from an Auracana is also gamey and dark, like pheasant meat.
