Chicken Education
Why are my eggs green, blue, and chocolate brown?
The color of your eggs depend on which hen laid it. Our Easter Eggers lay the many variations of green and blue eggs. French Marans lay the exquisite dark chocolate egg that you might find in your Hacienda Zaragoza egg carton. Red Sex Links lay the light brown eggs that make up a majority of our eggs. In short, each breed lays a uniquely-colored egg. If you want to see for yourself which color egg a hen might lay, check her ears! Chickens earlobes are the same color as the eggs that they lay.
What do our hens eat?
Our chickens are pasture-raised, in addition to the vegetarian chicken feed they eat. On the pasture, they have access to grass and insects (which are an important source of their daily protein). We also feed our hens a range of fruits and vegetables daily including leafy greens, berries, herbs, squash, apples, peaches, etc.
I cracked open an egg that had two yolks!
Lucky you, double yolks are pretty rare! They typically occur in larger eggs and happen as a result of the hen releasing two yolks down the oviduct at the same time (instead of just one). Both get covered by the egg shell, and a double yolk egg is formed. Have no fear, a double yolk egg will not make a significant impact on your health. If you're using it for cooking or baking you may want to save that egg to eat as a snack instead. Enjoy the surprise!
What do calcium deposits on the eggshell mean?
Calcium deposits on eggshells appear as hardened sand-like formations on the outside of the eggshell. Calcium deposits can be attributed to interferences during the formation of the shell in the oviduct. It can be caused from weather changes, stress, and several other disturbances. However, calcium deposits on the eggshell do not effect the quality of the egg inside, and those eggs are perfectly fine to eat. Check out this article by Community Chickens about egg deformities for more information.
Why do eggs have blood spots or meat spots?
What are blood spots? Blood spots form when blood vessels in a hen's ovaries or oviduct rupture, and a tiny speck of blood may land on the egg yolk or egg white. Meat spots are similar in that they are composed of tissue that landed on the egg yolk or egg white during the process of forming the egg. Meat spots can be brown, red or white. Blood and/or meat spots do not signify that the egg is fertilized.
Are they common? Blood and/or meat spots are much more common in farm-fresh eggs than those from commercial farms. One of the reasons for this is because commercial farms usually produce white eggs, which are much less likely to contain bloodspots (brown eggs have an 18% chance of containing blood spots).
What happens if I find a blood spot on my egg? If you find a blood spot on one of your eggs, don't worry! As long as the egg is cooked (boiled, fried, scrambled, poached, microwaved, etc.), it is safe to eat. If you're still wary, feel free to take a spoon and scrape it off before cooking.
What causes misshapen shells?
Once in a while we find eggs that have not been formed into the typical oval shape of an egg. Sometimes they're more round, or long and narrow like a torpedo. Misshapen shells may be caused by having defective shell glands, being disturbed or stressed while laying, or by a young chicken whose shell gland has not fully developed yet. Nevertheless, sometimes eggs are imperfect, just like the hens who lay them. Eggs that have misshapen shells are, of course, safe to eat.