Breeds by climate and egg color
Chickens that lay blue and green eggs
Blue eggs come from one gene, carried by the Araucana and the Ameraucana. Cross a blue-egg hen with a brown-egg breed and you get green; cross her with a dark-brown Marans and you get olive. That is the whole story of the four breeds below.
| # | Breed | Per year | Per week | Egg | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easter Egger | 200–280 | 4–5 | blue, green or olive | hardy; pea comb resists frostbite |
| 2 | Ameraucana | 180–220 | 3–4 | blue | hardy; pea comb |
| 3 | Olive Egger | 150–200 | 3–4 | olive green | hardy |
| 4 | Araucana | 150–180 | 3 | blue | hardy |
Easter Egger, Ameraucana, Araucana: which is which
The Easter Egger is not a breed; it is any chicken carrying the blue-egg gene, usually a hatchery cross. It is also the best layer of the four and the one you will actually find at the feed store, usually labeled "Americana" with a misspelling. Eggs come out blue, green, olive or occasionally pink, and each hen lays one color for life.
The Ameraucana is the standardized American breed: muffs, a beard, slate legs, and only blue eggs. The Araucana is the rarer South American original, rumpless and tufted, with a lethal gene that makes it hard to breed. Both lay fewer eggs than an Easter Egger. If someone sells you an "Ameraucana" for five dollars, it is an Easter Egger, and that is fine.
The Olive Egger is a cross between a blue-egg layer and a dark-brown layer like a Marans or a Welsummer. The eggs are olive green, sometimes with a speckled bloom. First-generation Olive Eggers lay the darkest olive; later generations lighten.
How many for a colorful dozen
An Easter Egger gives about 4 to 5 eggs a week, so three of them fill a dozen with blue and green. Ameraucanas and Araucanas lay 3 to 4 a week. Most keepers put two or three blue-egg hens into a mixed flock and let the carton do the rest. The breed pages have the per-week math, and the cost calculator will tell you what the carton costs you.
Common questions
What chicken lays blue eggs?
The Araucana and the Ameraucana lay true blue eggs. Easter Eggers, which carry the same gene, lay blue, green or olive depending on the hen. All three are sold under confusingly overlapping names.
Do blue eggs taste different?
No. Shell color is a pigment laid on at the end of the egg’s trip through the hen. The inside is decided by the hen’s diet, not her breed. A blue egg and a brown egg from the same yard taste the same.
What is the difference between an Easter Egger and an Ameraucana?
The Ameraucana is a recognized breed with a standard: muffs, beard, slate legs, blue eggs only. An Easter Egger is any mixed chicken carrying the blue-egg gene; it lays more eggs, in more colors, and costs a fraction. Most "Ameraucanas" at feed stores are Easter Eggers.
How do you get olive eggs?
Cross a blue-egg layer (Ameraucana, Araucana or Easter Egger) with a dark-brown layer (Marans, Welsummer). The daughters are Olive Eggers and lay olive green eggs, darkest in the first generation.