Easter Eggers are a beautiful mix of different poultry breeds. Their name comes from the fact that they lay eggs in every color of the rainbow (and then some). Many people who raise chicken breeds ask — “What color eggs do Easter Eggers lay?”
Here is a helpful guide.
What Color Eggs Do Easter Eggers Lay?
To know what color eggs Easter Eggers lay, you need to know how egg color is determined in the first place. Though we’re all familiar with the white and brown-shelled eggs that we find in the grocery store, it’s important to realize that, in a given breed of chicken, all eggs are built from the same three pigment shades: blue, brown, and red. The varying combinations of these three pigments create the vast range of egg colors that exist—from almost black to pale cream.
In addition, an egg’s shell has thousands of tiny pores that allow egg dyes to seep through if they’re applied while the egg is warm. If you’ve ever decorated Easter eggs or dyed hardboiled eggs with vinegar and food coloring, you’ve experienced this process firsthand (it’s true: those beautiful ombré Easter eggs aren’t just a clever trick of lighting).
Easter Eggers are a breed of chicken that lay eggs in every color except white. The eggs can range from light blue to dark olive green, with some browns and pinks in between. You’ll also get a nice assortment of egg sizes because Easter Eggers are egg-layers first, and their size can vary!
At What Age Do Easter Eggers Start Laying?
The answer is at about 6 months old, but they can lay as young as 4 months old or as old as 8 months old. So at 6 months of age if you have an Easter Egger hen that isn’t laying yet, don’t panic! She’ll get there soon enough.
I’ve heard of some Easter Eggers not laying until 8 months old, but this is very rare.
How Do You Tell What Color Egg an Easter Egger Will Lay?
Easter Eggers are a breed of chicken that doesn’t have a single set standard for what they look like, so you can’t tell by looking at them what color eggs they will lay. They are the result of crossing an Ameraucana with another breed of chicken, but the end result can be varied.
That’s not to say there is no way to know—it just requires an extra step. You’ll need to check the egg-laying history of the parents of your Easter Egger as well as any siblings she may have since this can give you an indication of what color eggs she will lay.
The most common colors are blue, green, and pink-ish tan, but it’s also possible to get cream, brown, or white eggs.
How Many Eggs a Year Does an Easter Egger Lay?
An easter egger, or easter-egger, is a hybrid chicken that lays eggs in shades of blue and green. Easter eggers are not a specific breed, but their name comes from the fact that all of these birds have one Ameraucana parent.
The rest of their heritage can vary greatly, so it’s impossible to say exactly how many eggs an individual easter egger will lay each year. Hybrid vigor tends to mean that they will produce more than their parents, and they may lay more than other hens.
However, they are not specifically bred for prolific laying and don’t often outperform hybrids like the popular sex-link breeds. You can expect your bird to lay between 150 and 200 eggs each year on average.
Do All Easter Eggers Lay Colored Eggs?
You might have heard that all Easter Eggers lay colored eggs. This isn’t quite true, but it’s close enough to be a good rule of thumb. If you want to know for sure, though, you’ll need to figure out the genetics of your particular bird.
Easter Eggers aren’t a breed—they are a variety within a group of breeds called “American Class.” In other words, they are chickens that come from America and are not purebreds or bantams. If you get chickens from a hatchery, the ones labeled as Easter Eggers are usually the ones that don’t meet the standards for any other breed. For example, maybe their pea comb isn’t quite right for them to be an Ameraucana or they lack the beard and muffs of an Araucana, but they still have some nice traits that make them worth raising.
The birds known as Easter Eggers lay eggs in shades ranging from light blue-green to olive green and even pinkish-brown! All Easter Eggers carry the blue egg gene (they get this from their Ameraucana ancestors), so if you cross an Easter Egger with another chicken that also carries the blue
Can Easter Eggers Lay Green Eggs?
Easter Eggers can lay green eggs, but it depends on the genetics of the particular chicken. And to get a hen that lays green eggs, you need a rooster that carries the right gene too. Here’s how it works:
The gene for blue eggshell color is called “O” and comes in two forms: O and o. A hen will only produce blue eggs if she has at least one copy of the O gene. Roosters also have to carry the O gene if they want to breed hens that lay blue eggs. If a rooster has two copies of the O gene (OO), then all his chicks will be able to lay blue eggs when they grow up—even if their moms don’t have any copies of this gene!
Green, olive, and aqua are all shades of blue. So these variations are possible because of the same genetic mechanism that creates blue eggs in chicken breeds like Ameraucana and Easter Egger. But not all Easter Eggers can produce green eggs! For example, some Easter Eggers don’t have any copies of the O gene—so they won’t lay green or blue eggs no matter what kind of rooster they mate with.
Conclusion
The Easter Egger is a fascinating bird, with multicolored eggs being only one aspect of its charm. While some do lay pastel green or blue eggs, the beauty of these birds is that their ancestry allows them to produce any egg color between pure white and dark chocolate brown. As such, your family will likely have to make do with whatever colors they’re able to lay. They may not be as vibrant as some other poultry breeds, but it’s a small price to pay for being able to produce endless varieties of eggs!
