13 Famous Chickens Breeds That Lay Colored Eggs

Chickens that lay colored eggs add another layer of fun and excitement to raising backyard chickens. The eggs have the same flavor as white eggs, but finding the colored eggs make it like hunting Easter eggs every time you go to the hen house.

Chicken egg colors vary from blue, green and brown can range from dark to light shades of the color. The reason behind the colored eggs is unclear, but most agree that chickens that lay colored eggs are doing so in a natural response to their surroundings. If the egg color is camouflaged within the nesting material it will have a better chance of being unseen by predators and reaching maturity.

Chickens That Lay Blue Eggs

1. Araucana Chickens

These chickens that lay colored eggs originated in Chile and are quite rare today. They have not only distinguished themselves from other chicken breeds by laying blue eggs, but they are also unique in the fact that they have no tail feathers and ear tufts.

Araucanas are hardy, active, curious and love to explore, making them an ideal free range chicken for a backyard. They can easily keep themselves fed and entertained by scratching for grubs, worms and insects. They also love people and enjoy being picked up, cuddled and handled by children.

Expect around 180 blue eggs each year from this active and fast maturing breed. Unfortunately the gene that sets Araucana chickens apart also causes them to die in the shell. You may like to see other types of chicken breeds such as white and black chicken breeds.

2. Ameraucana Chickens

The second chicken breed in our list that lay colored eggs is ameraucana. These chickens have blue legs and lay blue eggs, but their feather color varies greatly. Ameraucana chickens can be black, white, blue, wheaton or any color combination in-between. They all have piercing red eyes that give them the appearance of being fierce and mean. They are just the opposite of that. This breed of chicken that lays colored eggs has a sweet disposition and makes a good pet.

Ameraucana chickens have gray muffs and beards, making them look like an old bearded man or a chipmunk. This hardy breed will reach a mature weight of about 5 pounds and tolerates confinement. You may like to see other types of chicken breeds such as heritage chicken breeds.

3. Cream Legbar Chicken

At number three we have chicken that lays blue eggs is a cross between three breeds: Barred Plymouth Rocks, Golden Leghorns and Araucanas. The results is a friendly chicken that forages for most of its food and is easily handled.

The Cream Legbar is a crested chicken that produces chickens which can easily be sexed by the color of their feathers as soon as they hatch. These chickens have firm, muscular bodies and long a long, flat tail.

The eggs are shades of blue that range from sky blue to bluish-green. Mature hens will weigh four pounds, mature rooster will weigh around seven pounds. You may like to see other types of chicken breeds such as rare chicken breeds.

4. Easter Egger Chicken

These chickens are friendly, hardy and lay extra large, colorful eggs. The Easter Egger is also an attractive chicken, with tan and white feather and a beard. However, since the Easter Egger is a mixed breed, there is no standard for appearance. It’s possible to a hen house full of Easter Eggers with no two looking alike.

This is a mixed breed chicken that does not fit into any specific breed. It’s often mistake for other blue egg laying chickens, which can be a problem if you’re looking for a show chicken.

The Easter Egger will lay blue eggs, plus rose, brown, green and cream colored eggs. This is an ideal way to create organic, free range colorful egg for Easter with the use of dye or any other type of chemical. Go green this Easter with true colored eggs produced by an Easter Egger hen.

Chickens That Lay Green Eggs

5. Olive Eggers

Happy little chicken that was created by cross breeding a brown egg layer and a blue egg layer. Olive Eggers have a mild temperament and will produce around 200 large green eggs each year. These green egg layers make good pets and get along well with other breeds of chickens.

The temperament, size, skin color, feather color, etc. depends upon the two breeds that were combined to create an Olive Egger.

Olive Eggers are typically a hardy breed that will adjust to most any climate or environment. Create your own Olive Egger with the certain specifications by selecting your favorite breed of brown egg layers and blue egg layers and breeding them together. You’ll get a hen with desired traits that lays green eggs.

6. Isbars

Cold hardy chickens that originated in Sweden and lay moss green eggs. Ideal foragers for any free range farm, Isbars will lay around 200 green eggs each year.

This breed enjoys people and are naturally curious. They are always on high alert and on the look out for predators.

Isbars (pronounced ice-bar) are an attractive breed of hens and roosters that are relatively new, having only been a recognized breed since 1950.

7. Favaucana

A cross between Faverolles and Amerucanas, this chicken that lays colored eggs will fill your basket with sage green eggs. Favaucanas are cold hardy beauties that have excellent egg laying abilities that produce five eggs a week.

This breed does not like heat, but will tolerate confinement in a well ventilate coop.

Favaucanas love to chat, are friendly and curious. Their sweet disposition makes them an ideal family pet that just happens to lay green eggs.

This is a large bird and will weight around eight pounds when full grown. You may like to see egg laying chicken breeds.

Chickens That Lay Brown Eggs

8. Marans

These small black chickens lay deep brown eggs that resemble an oval piece of chocolate. Easy going chicken breed that makes a great addition to a backyard flock of egg layers. Prized for both meat and egg production,

Originating in Marans, France, this breed was developed using the local feral chickens in the mid 1,800s. The breed has been refined over the years until it reached a pinnacle of fame in 2011 when Marans was named as the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection.

9. Wellsummer

These mild tempered chickens originated in the Dutch town of Wellsum. These are large, active chickens that lay brown eggs with darker brown speckles.

Roosters are coveted for the beautiful plumage that are various shades of red and black. The chestnut brown hackles and saddle feathers are free flowing and contrast perfectly with the beetle-green chest and bottom feathers.

Wellsummer chickens are very popular in the the UK and Australia, but have not garnered a faithful following in other countries yet.

10. Penedesencas Chickens

This breed originated in Spain and is ideal for raising in hot climates. Penedesencas produce the darkest brown eggs of all – all hens lay deep, reddish-brown eggs. They make great egg producers, but not good pets. This breed is wary and skiddish of humans and it will take time for them to get used to you and not run when approached.

Hens are small and weigh around four pounds when mature, males weigh slightly more at maturity. This breed is hardy and alert, and rooster make excellent flock protectors.

11. Golden Comets

The Golden Comet is a new comer in the hybrid chicken breeds. It was bred primarily for abundant egg production, but they serve the dual purpose of  meat and egg production.

These brown egg layers unlike other breeds in our list reach maturity fast and begin to lay extra large brown eggs at an early age, usually around 16 weeks old. Golden Comets will produce over 300 brown eggs per year.

These chicken have small bodies, typically weighing in at four pounds when mature. Their feathers are light-medium reddish brown with a few white feathers mixed in.

They have a mellow disposition and enjoy being picked up and held. They are naturally curious chickens and want to be involved in your outdoor activities. You may like to see small chicken breeds.

Chickens That Lay Cream Eggs

12. Faverolle Chicken

Originating in France, this egg layer is a mix of the best characteristics of several different chicken breeds. Faverolles were developed with meat and egg production in mind, but their fluffy feathered appearance, calm disposition and cream eggs have made them a favorite show chicken and family chicken.

These are medium sized chickens when grown with compact bodies. They have five toes which are covered with feathers, as are their shanks. You can expect between 150-180 cream colored eggs each year from a laying Faverolle hen.

13. Dorking Chickens

Named for a Southern English town called Dorking, this short legged chickens has five toes and a rose-colored comb. This breed is best known for its tender meat, not colored egg production.

These chickens have a heavy body and will weight around eight pounds when grown. Originally raised for meat and eggs, Dorking chickens are a rare breed that are currently only raised for their green egg production.

Dorking chickens are excellent winter layers and gentle foragers. They don’t destroy garden plants and grass as they scratch like other chicken breeds often do.

Adult females will weight seven pounds, adult roosters will weigh nine pounds.

Ending Note

So these are different chicken breeds that lay colored eggs such as green, blue, brown and cream. The average number of eggs laid per year is 180 to 300. You can select any of these breeds you like the most from our list.