A clear egg white is an indication the egg is aging. Pink or pearly egg white (albumen) indicates spoilage due to Pseudomonas bacteria. Some of these microorganisms — which produce a greenish, fluorescent, water-soluble pigment — are harmful to humans.
Brown pigment can vary largely too – the brown eggs can vary in color by season (lighter in the summer, and darker in the cooler months). The level of pigment always dissipates as the chicken grows in years – so an older hen will have a lighter shell over time.
Pink Eggs: There aren’t too many chickens that lay pink eggs, but those that do are the result of the cuticle being painted on just prior to the egg being laid (4-6 hours from the end of the 26-hour process. The color of the pink will be determined by the thickness of the bloom that applies.
There are several white laying breeds of chickens – these breeds do not have pigment genes and thus, they lay white eggs. Some of the white laying egg breeds include Adalusians, Leghorns, Lakenvelders and more, but those are the most notable.
Green Eggs: The chickens that lay green eggs (Easter Eggers, and Olive Eggers) are the result of cross breeding a blue egg and a brown egg breed of chicken. Thus, they have both the blue and brown genes. These eggs will be blue on the inside (from the cross of the blue egg and brown breed) but green on the outside (blue and brown = green).
Have you ever seen any of these varieties? Or if you raise chickens, what are your favorite breeds to raise?
“We are sure that you have seen pink eggs in Thai markets or grocery stores before. Have you ever wondered what they are? The Thai name for the pink egg is ไข่เยี่ยวม้า (khai yiao ma) which actually translates to “horse urine egg”. There is a common misconception or “myth” that these eggs used to be made by soaking them in horse urine.
We never would have figured this out if Gregory hadnt been curious. Im now sure that they meant Thousand Year Old Eggs and the “Yawned” was just a bad translation maybe from a translation device when they were making their menu in English. Im so glad that Century Eggs or Pink Eggs are not actually soaked in horse urine for months!
Okay, so there was a comment/question by Gregory Garceau in one of our previous posts called, Its so Easy Here. Gregory was wondering about the pink eggs that his sharp eyes spotted in the dark corners of some market photo. I have always assumed the pink eggs were another version of Thousand Year Old Eggs, also called Century Eggs. Thousand Year Old Eggs originated in China and are gray, ashen, dirty looking and sometimes with dirt or actual ash on them. When there were times of abundance in China they preserved eggs for future use. Century Eggs or Thousand Year Old Eggs always look dirty but Pink Eggs are always bright and clean and brilliantly colored.
Thankfully, this is not actually true, but the myth likely came from the fact that the pink egg has a smell of ammonia that many people aren’t used to. The pink egg is a Thai variation of a century egg or thousand year old egg – an Asian tradition that involved preserving the egg for several weeks or months using a process that combines clay, ash, salt, quicklime and rice hulls.
This particular preparation method for eggs originated in Thailand. The result completely transforms the egg – while it is pink on the outside, the pink egg is actually greenish-black or dark brown once peeled. Some people are put off by the smell – it has a somewhat pungent smell, but we guarantee the taste is not as bad as it may initially seem!
Pink egg genetics
FAQ
Why is my eggshell pink?
Why did my chicken lay a pink egg?
Which bird lays pink eggs?
Are pink eggs rare?
What does a pink egg look like?
Pink – Pink eggs can be a matter of perception. To some folks, the egg may appear to be a light tint. To others, it will appear a pale pink. Orpingtons are your best bet for consistently pink-colored eggs.
Where does pink eye originate from?
The most common ways to get the contagious form of pink eye include: Direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids, usually through hand-to-eye contact and spread of the infection from bacteria living in the person’s own nose and sinuses. Most cases of pink eye are caused by adenovirus but also can be caused by other viruses, including herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus.
Which chicken lays pink eggs?
There is no one breed you can pick to ensure a pink egg layer, but olive eggers, blue egg layers, or dark brown egg-laying species bred with a creamy colored egg layer may produce a chicken that lays something along the lines of pink. This sounds great, doesn’t it?! A chicken that lays chocolate eggs is not what it sounds like.
Do Easter eggers have pink eggs?
Ultimately, though, it comes down to individual variation within breeds. Commonly, species such as Light Sussex, Barred Rock, Mottled Javas, Australorp, Buff Orpington, Silkie, and Faverolle that lay crème colored eggs might also have a genetic variation that tints them pink. This also occurs with the Easter Egger chicken, as mentioned before.