Egg colour.

[colly0410 1,181]

When I've bought eggs abroad (America, Malta & Canary Islands) the colour you get is pot luck, all shades from white to brown. In UK they're always brown. Anyone know why?

[poohbear 1,360]

Colour substance in the grit given to the birds.

[MELTONSTILTON 452]

poohbear is right, it is the grit colour

[mick2me 3,033]

Its Easter

Feed them some crushed up Terrazzo tiles

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

The breed of the hens, Rhode Island Reds, always brown eggs, can't think of the breed, but one that is white, white eggs. Barred Plymouth Rocks lighter shade of brown.

I have a couple of odd looking bantams, (small breeds) they lay white eggs.

Shell colour has nothing to do with feed!! Now yolk colour does, light orange fed on grain, very deep orange, free range.

Had and bred chickens now for around 12 years, love the birds, so individual in temperament.

RI Reds are so docile, Barred Plymouths can get very aggressive when "sitting".

Talking of hens, off to feed and water mine.

[Bilboro-lad 294]

When i was little my mum always told us that brown hens laid white eggs and white hens brown. Any truth in that when taking breeds into account?

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Very much so, "brown hens" are usually Rhode Island Reds, but they lay darker brown shelled eggs, I prefer the RI's, they are usually a gentle bird.

I did cross RI's with Barred Plymouth Rocks a couple of years back, I incubated the eggs indoors, out of five eggs only one was infertile, so hatched three hens and one rooster.

I "candled" the eggs daily and turned them several times a day... Marvalous to watch them progress through the shells, I use a bright torch.

[mick2me 3,033]

Which are the best chickens to eat?

[carni 10,094]

A little Bird told us that the Supermarkets can choose the color of the yolks from a Color Chart! Could it be true?

Mick2me .........Could it be dead ones?

[Merthyr Imp 729]

Back in the 1960s the majority of the eggs my mother sold in her shop were white, with the occasional brown one, and I think that was the case with most shops at that time. As I remember, people used to think (rightly or wrongly) that brown eggs were better quality.

But as colly0410 said at the start, all you get are brown ones now.

[Rob.L 1,090]

Although I'm taking delivery of some white eggs tomorrow, from a family friend who keeps hens. So fresh, even the s*** they're covered in is warm and wet.

Strange, isn't it, that we can only get brown eggs here, but invariably, you can only get white eggs in North America.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Commercially, there are certain breeds bred for eating, one of the first chickens I had fell into that catagory, no idea now what the breed was, I was new at chicken keeping back then.

It was white, but jeeze did it grow quick!!! At a month it was as large as an adult chicken, at three months it would have been ready for slaughter, but I wanted hens for eggs.. The damned thing just kept growing until at 6 months it had a fit and dropped down dead!!! Only laid one egg...white shell.

RI Reds start laying at around six months old, as do Barred Plymouth Rocks... RI's are eatable, although mine don't end up as food, as by the time they finish laying, at around 8 years old, they'd be as tough as leather.

Besides, I'm a softy, my birds are more like pets...

[MELTONSTILTON 452]

Which are the best chickens to eat?

Dead ones

[mick2me 3,033]

Is there a retirement home for Chickens that stop laying?

Melton... Great minds think alike

Mick2me .........Could it be dead ones?

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Mine retire gracefully, after all they have earned their keep, so they have the run of the place until their time is up. I think the longest I kept one was around 12 years old, she passed on last year.

[mick2me 3,033]

Do they all have names?

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

No, but they get called some names at times....LOL Only one has a name and she comes running when I call it.

Chickens, like all birds aren't as stupid as people make them out to be.

A few years back, my chickens were out, and they were attacked by a pack of three dogs, one I recognized, they others not, several were dead from the injuries, one had a massive open breast wound, you caouls see all the muscle tissue on one side.

I decided I'd have a go at saving her, she was a good layer.

It was summer, so flies would be the major problem. To stop the would getting infected and fly blown, I sprayed the wound with "plastic skin" must have stung the hen pretty bad, but she didn't flinch.

I carried on this treatment a few times a day until the wound healed over....That hen got used to being called "Baby" and if I was outside and shouted Baby, she came running to me to be picked up and fussed.

Sadly she passed on a couple of years back.

[colly0410 1,181]

Mother-in-laws Dad kept chickens. She said they'd sit on her knee like a cat & want fussing. When they had one bopped off for Sunday din-dins no one could bring themselves to eat George, (they all had names) the rest died of old age.

[carni 10,094]

No one fancied George and Chips in a basket then?

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Some like being petted, others don't appreciate being handled..Even the ones I raised from hatchlings don't always seem to like being petted.

The last four I raised, are Rhode Island red/Barred Plymouth crosses, their eggs are brown with brown freckles, neither of the pure breds have freckled eggs...

[Trevor S 2,003]

How come you do not see double yolkers anymore?

You know what I mean....one egg with two yolks inside....Ja,no yolking!

Back in the ROT Cliff Drive days in the 50s, we had our own chickens (and one crazy cockerel who attacked me more than once) and I remember double yolkers being quite common.

[benjamin1945 16,194]

Used to sell "Duck eggs" in my days at Marsdens",they were green,never see em in shops now,most probably illegal under EU REGULATIONS.

[poohbear 1,360]

Duck eggs often seen on markets.

[plantfit 7,638]

Which are the best chickens to eat?

Dead ones

Rog

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

Used to sell "Duck eggs" in my days at Marsdens",they were green,never see em in shops now,most probably illegal under EU REGULATIONS.

Is just the colour you mean benjamin1945 ?

Morrisons sell duck eggs in packs of six & y6ou can buy them "loose" on Loughborough market.