What Color Eggs Do Barred Rock Hens Lay
Today I'm going to share about the chicken breeds we have at the farm and the colored eggs they lay. People ask me all the time about the fact that we have blue and green eggs, so I though this would be a fun topic to write about. I also recorded a VLOG on the subject, which you can watch below:
Here is a helpful little chart I made that includes most of the eggs we are getting and the breeds that lays them. A silkie egg is actually in the top left and you can see the size difference between a bantam egg and a standard egg.
Our Current Breeds
Here is a list of the breeds we have currently. I also listed the color that we have the breed in, although they can come in a variety of colors that are not listed below.
Astrolorp, Black
Astrolorps are one of my favorite breeds. They are great, consistent layers, and wonderful mothers! They do go broody quite often, so that is something to consider. Their eggs are a medium-brown tone, and are quite large. We just have one at the moment, but this is definitely a breed we will add more of in the future.
Ameraucana
Ameraucanas are known for their bright blue eggs, and are considered a rare breed. They can be hard to find, and it is important to get them from a good breeder.
Barred Rock
Barred Rocks are a great breed in terms of temperament and egg-laying. They lay a medium-sized, medium brown colored egg. From experience, our barred rock was by far the most docile and friendly of our standard-size chickens. This is a fairly common breed that is easy to find.
Easter Egger (technically a mixed breed)
Easter Eggers lay large eggs in a variety of colors ranging from green to blue to cream/pink. Our three lay the following:
- Light blue
- Olive green
- Mint green
Easter Eggers are not technically a breed, but rather a mix of hens that carry a gene causing colored eggs. Our Easter Eggers are great, and lay beautiful eggs. There are also olive eggers, which is crossing a blue layer with a Maran to create a dark green olive colored egg layer. This is a project I would love to work on in the Spring.
Maran, Black Copper & Blue
There are many types of Marans, with Black Copper Marans laying the darkest eggs. Ours are black copper and blue and they both lay dark brown with red/copper tones, large-sized eggs. One lays eggs with a lot of speckles too. Maran eggs are my absolute favorite, and are just gorgeous!
Orpington, Lavender
Orpingtons typically lay large, cream colored eggs. Orpingtons are known for being extremely docile, motherly, and good layers, although their tendency to go broody can keep them from laying consistently.
Silkie, Mixed Colors
Silkies come in a variety of colors, and are not known for their egg laying, but rather their fluffiness and friendly personalities. They are small birds, in the bantam category, and lay very small, cream-colored eggs.
Wyandotte, Golden & Silver Laced
Wyandottes lay light brown, medium-sized eggs. Their eggs may not be very large, but they are our best layers, laying almost daily in the spring, summer, and fall, and consistently lay through the winter. They are on the smaller side, and come in some beautiful varieties. One of the more popular patterns right now is called Blue Laced Red Wyandotte.
A Few of Our Egg Baskets
Over the past year we have had a number of beautiful egg baskets. The most exciting part is it just keeps getting prettier as we add more colored egg layers. In the photos below you can see the variety we have been getting from our ten hens. As I mentioned above, most recently our Marans started laying, which has made our egg baskets even more stunning!
Processed with VSCO with a6 preset
Processed with VSCO with a6 preset
That's all for now friends! I hope you enjoyed this post. Do you have chickens? Please comment below and let me know all about them and the eggs they lay.
All my best,
Jenn
What Color Eggs Do Barred Rock Hens Lay
Source: https://sunshinefarmny.com/2018/12/10/a-look-inside-our-colorful-egg-basket-chicken-breeds-the-eggs-they-lay/#:~:text=Barred%20Rocks%20are%20a%20great,of%20our%20standard%2Dsize%20chickens.