Eggs
Weight, colour, shell, storage, oddities: understanding the hen's egg with answers from a breeder-selector.
10 questions
The Araucana and the crested Legbar lay blue eggs, the Olive Egger olive-green eggs, and the Marans dark brown (chocolate) eggs. Our breed listing even offers a filter by egg colour.
Yes. All hens lay edible eggs. Depending on the breed, there is great diversity in size and colour, but all are made of a yolk and a white: they are therefore perfectly edible.
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Yes: whether an egg is fertilised or not makes no difference for eating. Be careful, though — if the egg has stayed too long in the warmth, you may find small traces of blood in it.
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No, a rooster does not lay eggs, and its presence does not trigger the hens' laying either. However, it is appreciated by the hens and remains essential to obtain chicks.
As the hen matures, her reproductive system develops and her eggs get larger: a young hen's first eggs are small, then grow over the weeks to their adult size. This is also why, within a single season, early-season eggs are a little smaller than those of full season.
The shell colour is genetic and depends on the breed: white, cream, brown, blue or green. It has no effect on the taste or quality of the egg — it is simply a pigment deposited as the shell forms.
Small eggs are common in young hens starting to lay, or occasionally in an adult (a yolkless egg). It is usually harmless and settles down with maturity.
The egg forms in the hen's reproductive tract: the yolk is released, surrounded by the white, then the membranes and finally the calcareous shell, before laying. The whole process takes about 24 to 26 hours.
About 24 to 26 hours: this is why a hen lays at most one egg a day, often a little later each day until it skips a day.
Laying is independent of the rooster: a hen lays eggs whether there is a rooster or not. The rooster is only needed to fertilise the eggs and get chicks. Without a rooster, the eggs are simply unfertilised — and perfectly edible.
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