Ever wonder why some eggs are white and others are brown? Most eggs are one of the two – while some come in colors like cream, pink, blue and green, and some are speckled.
There’s a myth that brown eggs in particular are healthier than the standard white. Nutritionally, there is no significant difference between the two colors of eggs. But wait until you hear this. The color has to do with earlobes, as explained by my colleague and Missouri egg farmer Lorryn Bolte in this video. Did you even know chickens had earlobes? They do, and chickens with white earlobes lay white eggs and chickens with brown earlobes lay brown eggs. It’s that simple.
It boils down to the fact that the color of eggs has everything to do with genetics and nothing to do with nutrition. It’s the breed of the hen that indicates the color. For example, Leghorn chickens lay white eggs, Orpington’s lay brown eggs, Ameraucana produce blue and an Olive Egger lays, you guessed it, olive green eggs. Interesting tidbit: all eggs start out white and change color as they develop.
Now that we’ve cracked the mystery you can feel confident eating brown or white eggs, knowing that both pack a powerful nutritional punch! For those who say otherwise? Well, that’s just a pigment of their imagination.
Have questions? I’d love to connect with you and promise to keep the cheesy puns to a minimum! No yoke. Reach out at @AskDrDorman or by email at AskDrDorman@pahc.com.