Most chickens lay cream or light brown eggs, but certain breeds can lay colorful eggs. Imagine going to collect eggs in the morning and finding a clutch of pink, green, olive, gray, and blue eggs! Utter magic! If blue eggs are what you are after, which chicken breeds should you keep?
The most popular chicken breeds that lay blue eggs are Auracana, Ameraucana, and Cream Legbar. While not an official breed, the Easter Egger is also known for its blue eggs. Donxiang and Lushi chickens lay blue eggs. Arkansas Blue and Whiting True Blue are experimental breeds that lay blue eggs.
Chicken breeds that lay blue eggs are harder to come by and are more expensive. But considering their beautiful eggs, they are well worth the extra cost! In this article, all the chicken breeds that lay blue eggs are discussed.
Contents
Chicken Breeds That Lay Blue Eggs?
The following chicken breeds lay blue eggs:
- Araucana
- Ameraucana
- Easter Egger
- Cream Legbar
- Dongxiang
- Lushi
- Arkansas Blue
- Whiting True Blue
Let’s look at each of these breeds in more detail:
1. Araucana
The Araucana was the first blue egg-laying chicken to be introduced to North America. Araucanas originated from South America and were first recognized as an official breed by the American Poultry Association (APA) in 1976.
Araucana chickens have five different plumage colors – white, black, brown, golden, or silver. They have a small pea comb, red earlobes, greenish legs, and the bottoms of their feet are yellow.
They have distinctive tufts of soft feathering on the sides of their heads. Another defining feature of Araucanas is that they have no rump.
Their showy ear tufts and rumplessness are caused by a recessive gene. The problem is that if both parents carry the gene, it decreases the fertility of the eggs, and chicks often die inside the egg.
Araucana hens produce around 3 eggs a week, and the eggs are always blue. You can expect between 150 and 200 blue eggs annually.
2. Ameraucana
The Ameraucana was created by crossing the Araucana with a few different breeds of chicken from the United States. The breed was created and standardized in the US and was first recognized by the APA in 1984.
Ameraucana officially has seven different plumage colors – white, black, buff, silver, blue, wheaten, blue wheaten, and brown red. However, many other color varieties exist that are not recognized by the APA.
In terms of looks, Ameraucanas closely resemble Araucanas. They have small pea combs and fluffy, tufted heads. The difference between Ameraucanas and Auracanas is that they have a rump.
Ameraucana hens produce 3 or 4 light blue eggs per week. Annually you can expect around 180 to 200 eggs.
3. Easter Egger
The Easter Egger is not recognized as an official breed, but they are a favorite amongst backyard chicken owners. They are healthy, hardy birds that are calm and friendly and make good pets (especially for kids).
They lay many different egg colors – rosy pink, green, cream, light brown, and blue. An individual hen lays a particular color egg. The egg color does not vary from day to day.
There is no breed standard, so these mixed-breed chickens vary in appearance. Some Easter Eggers are rumpless, while others have tails. Some have tufted heads, while others do not.
Easter Eggers have variable plumage colors, depending on their parents’ breeds. Generally, they are a combination of brown, black, and white.
Easter Eggers are good layers, with hens producing 4 eggs per week. You can easily expect more than 200 eggs annually.
4. Cream Legbar
The Cream Legbar is a British breed that was developed in the 1930s. They were created by crossing Araucanas with Barred Plymouth Rocks, brown Leghorns, and gold penciled Hamburgs.
They were first shown in 1947 at the London Dairy Show. Cream Legbars are not an official breed recognized by the APA, but the Poultry Club Of Great Britain has recognized the breed since 1958.
Today Cream Legbars are one of the most popular breeds amongst backyard chicken owners because of their sweet temperament, hardiness, and, of course, their light blue eggs.
They have plumage in shades of cream and gray with distinctive barring on the tail and breast. They have yellow legs and feet, single, 6-pointed, red combs, and cream or white earlobes.
Cream Legbar hens produce 4 eggs per week on average. They generally lay between 200 and 230 light blue eggs annually.
5. Dongxiang
The Dongxiang is a Chinese breed that lays blue eggs. It is very rare in the US and is not recognized by the APA.
Dongxiang are an ancient breed that is fibromelanistic, meaning that their skin is dark in color. Their plumage is either black or partridge color.
They are not very productive egg layers, with hens only laying 2 or 3 eggs per week.
6. Lushi
Lushis are another blue egg-laying breed that comes from China. Lushi is not recognized as a breed by the APA, and they are very rare in the United States.
Lushi chickens are highly variable in appearance. They can have multicolored plumage.
These chickens are even less productive than the Dongxiang. Lushi hens only lay about 2 blue eggs per week.
7. Arkansas Blue
The Arkansas Blue is a rare, experimental breed that was created by Dr. Keith Bramwell from the University of Arkansas by crossing a Leghorn and an Araucana. It is not an official breed.
Very few backyard chicken owners keep this breed. It has excellent egg-laying capabilities. Hens lay 200 to 300 blue eggs annually!
8. Whiting True Blue
The Whiting True Blue is another experimental chicken breed that lays blue eggs. They were not bred for their egg color but for their plumage.
Whiting True Blue are rarely kept, but hens are productive layers. You can expect more than 200 eggs annually.
Conclusion
There are eight chicken breeds that lay blue eggs, but of these, only the Easter Egger, Ameraucana, and Cream Legbar are popular amongst backyard poultry enthusiasts. These three breeds all owe their ability to lay blue eggs to their Araucana heritage.
