Shell Color, Yolk & Egg Shape

Shell color is fixed by genetics before the egg is laid; yolk color is a running record of what the hen ate. Why the two never predict each other.

Sort hatching eggs on the kitchen table by shell color, shape, texture, and flaws — and why the biggest, roundest egg in the nest belongs in the pan.

Blue, green, chocolate, and white eggs come from breed genetics, not feed. Match the right layers to build a multi-colored basket from your own flock.

Shell color is set by breed, not feed. How Araucanas, Ameraucanas, and Easter Eggers actually lay, and the trade-offs you pick when you choose birds by color.

Shell color, egg size, and lay rate are three separate inherited packages. What each appearance choice costs elsewhere in the flock before you order chicks.

Brown shell color fades as a hen's laying cycle runs on. Read shade, size, shape, and speckle to identify each hen in a mixed flock by her eggs.

Blue shells come from Araucana-lineage breeds. Cross a blue layer with a brown layer and you get green. How the pigments stack, and why shades drift.