How Many Eggs Do a Blue Leghorns Lay

What kinds of chickens lay blue eggs? There are ten (known) breeds out there and this is a thorough breakdown of each one. They lay beautiful blue eggs and some are also dual-purpose meat and egg layers. Let's help you make the best decision for your homestead or small backyard flock.

Some of the breeds of chickens that lay blue eggs are quite common and easy to find for your own flock — like the Ameraucana and the Easter Egger. But others are quite rare, including a stunning landrace breed from Scotland that is only recently available to purchase in North America.

Some of these make up the best egg-laying chicken breeds around.

Jump to:

Ameraucana
Araucana
Easter Egger
Cream Legbar
Whiting True Blue
Arkansas Blue
Azure Blue
Lushi
Dongxiang
Shetland Hen
Why Do Some Chickens Lay Blue Eggs?
What Chicken Breed Lays The BLUEST Eggs?
What Other Colours Of Eggs Do Chickens Lay?
Does Egg Colour Affect Nutritional Value?
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Ameraucana

Primary use: Egg Laying
Size (Roosters): 6.5 lbs
Size (Hens): 5.5 lbs
Egg production (Annual): 150
Egg size: Large
Egg colour: Blue
Origin:USA

Ameraucanas are a pure breed of chicken that was originally developed in the USA from South American blue egg-laying breeds. They have been officially recognized as their own breed since the 1970s. They will always lay blue eggs. The breed is friendly and docile, including the roosters, and comes in 8 colours, including Blue, Black, Lavender, White and Wheaten.

Read More: The Ameraucana Chicken: An American Purebred Blue Egg Layer

Araucana

Primary use: Dual-purpose (Meat & Eggs)
Size (Roosters): 5 lbs
Size (Hens): 4 lbs
Egg production (Annual): 160 - 180
Egg size: Medium - Large
Egg colour: Blue
Origin:Chile

The Araucana is known for their highly energetic personalities that can either be translated as extremely curious and friendly towards humans — or very flighty. This characteristic makes them incredible foragers who will scratch through pastures all day in search of the tastiest plants and bugs. This breed has origins in Chile and they are the breed the Ameraucana was developed from. Their prominent ear tufts and lack of tails set them apart visually from Ameraucanas. They come in the following colours: black, white, duckwing silver and golden.

Easter Egger

Primary use: Egg Laying (but can be considered a dual-purpose breed too)
Size (Roosters): 5 lbs
Size (Hens): 4 lbs
Egg production (Annual): 200
Egg size: Medium - Large
Egg colour: Blue (& other colours too!)
Origin: USA

Easter eggers are extremely popular, but they are not actually a breed but rather mutts that can lay blue — and other types of coloured — eggs! No two birds will look exactly alike and they come in various colour combinations. They are a fun variety because you never know exactly what colour you will get from any hen until she starts laying — blue? Green? Dark olive? Bluish-green?

It's an adventure of sorts. They are also frequently called Rainbow Layers as a result.

Cream Legbar

Primary use: Egg Laying
Size (Roosters): 6 lbs - 7 lbs
Size (Hens): 4 ½ lbs to 5 ½ lbs
Egg production (Annual): 250+
Egg size: Large
Egg colour: Blue
Origin: UK

The Cream Legbar was developed in the UK in the 1930s at Cambridge University. Its ancestors include Brown Leghorns, Barred Plymouth Rocks, Araucanas, and Gold Campines. The blue egg-laying gene was inherited from the Araucanas.

Michael Pease and Reginald Punnett at the Genetical Institute of Cambridge University wanted a chicken that could produce lots of eggs and "auto sex" chicks or chicks are those born with characteristics that let people distinguish males from females on the day that they hatch.

These birds are known for being excellent foragers that thrive on pasture, however, they are not overly friendly.

Whiting True Blue

Primary use: Egg Laying
Size (Roosters): 6 lbs - 7 lbs
Size (Hens): 5 lbs
Egg production (Annual): 250-300
Egg size: Medium - Large
Egg colour: Blue
Origin:USA

The Whiting True Blue is a relatively new breed named for poultry geneticist, Dr. Tom Whiting, who developed them. They have a good heat tolerance and a friendly disposition. They do well on pasture.

Arkansas Blue

Primary use: Egg Laying
Size (Roosters): 6 lbs
Size (Hens): 4 lbs - 5 lbs
Egg production (Annual): 250-300
Egg size: Medium - Large
Egg colour: Blue
Origin:USA

The Arkansas Blue is another new crossbreed. It is an experimental breed developed at the University of Arkansas and is a cross between a White Leghorn and Araucana and lays blue eggs. They are not yet available to the public for purchase as of this writing.

Azure Blue

Primary use: Egg laying
Size (Roosters): 5 lbs
Size (Hens): 4 lbs
Egg production (Annual): 295
Egg size: Large
Egg colour: Blue
Origin:USA

We have decided to raise the Azure Blue this year!

The Azur Blue is not a pure-bred chicken of old origins. It was rather recently bred specifically to be a small and friendly chicken with pretty white plumage that can lay an abundance of large blue eggs. They do well on pasture and will forage for their food. They are ideal for small flocks and small-scale producers looking for high-quality, hard-shelled eggs and a prolific egg-laying breed. The genetic makeup of these birds consists of Welsummers, Cream Legbars, White Legbars, and Sage eggers. They are known to have a friendly disposition too.

Read More: Why We Chose The Azure Blue Chicken For Eggs

Lushi

Primary use: Dual-purpose (meat & eggs)
Size (Roosters): 4 lbs
Size (Hens): 3 lbs
Egg production (Annual): Unknown
Egg size: Small
Egg colour: Blue
Origin:China

I cannot find any photos of the Lushi chicken. I know that they are small birds and lay blue eggs but some sources say they actually lay pink eggs. Others still say they lay both pink and blue eggs like a Chinese Easter Egger variety.

As of this writing, I do not have any further information on this rare breed and none are to be found outside of China.

Dongxiang

Primary use: Dual-purpose (meat & eggs)
Size (Roosters): Unknown
Size (Hens): Unknown
Egg production (Annual): Unknown
Egg size: Unknown
Egg colour: Blue
Origin:China

I cannot find a reliable photo of the Dongxiang chicken. From my research, I know that they are a fibromelanistic bird which means their feathers, skin, flesh, blood and organs are pitch black – kinda like the Ayam Cemani.

If you want an idea of how this rare Chinese chicken might look, see my article 15 Beautiful Black Chicken Breeds.

They do lay blue eggs, that much we know, but no birds are available outside of China as far as I can tell.

Shetland Hen

Primary use: Dual-purpose (meat & eggs)
Size (Roosters): Unknown
Size (Hens): Unknown
Egg production (Annual): Unknown
Egg size: Medium
Egg colour: Blue and/or Green
Origin:Scotland

From Greenfire Farms (the only place I know of that you can get Shetland Hens in North America):

"The Shetland Hen is a vanishing landrace of chickens that hails from the windswept isles of Scotland.

Shetland Hens trace their origins to Spanish galleons that ran aground in Scotland almost 500 years ago. Some of these boats carried chickens with exotic genetics including the blue-egg gene that originated in South America.

These Spanish birds bred with the local Scottish chickens and produced a wonderful race of birds now lauded for their unique traits including the tappit, or tufted, head feathering.

These birds are listed on the Slow Food Ark of Taste as a breed critically in need of preservation."

Our farmhouse cottage was built by Scottish settlers in the 1860s. I would absolutely love to get my hands on some Shetland Hens to raise alongside my English Orpingtons. But alas, no luck finding them so far.

Why Do Some Chickens Lay Blue Eggs?

Very few chicken breeds lay blue eggs as you can see from this list. These 10 are all the known breeds and some are recent developments and mutts.

But what caused this blue egg-laying to happen? Surprisingly it all started with a type of virus known as a retrovirus.

A long (LONG) time ago, this retrovirus infected the Mapuche (Araucana) chicken breed. A similar (mutation) but different retrovirus also invaded the Dongxiang and Lushi chicken breeds.

This retrovirus contained something called Ribonucleic Acid which literally inserts itself into the organism it is invading and actually rewrites the DNA profile.

The change in DNA profile just so happened to be that instead of laying the regular white or brown eggs we commonly see, the chickens started laying blue eggs instead.

What Chicken Breed Lays The BLUEST Eggs?

Araucana eggs are known to be the bluest eggs from any of the chickens that lay blue eggs produce. This popular breed hails from Chile, and all other blue egg-laying breeds are descended from Araucanas as far as we know.

What Other Colours Of Eggs Do Chickens Lay?

Alongside the commonplace white and brown, and the chickens that lay blue eggs from this list, there are chicken breeds that lay a very dark chocolate brown, cream, green, and pinkish hued eggs too.

Does Egg Colour Affect Nutritional Value?

No. This is just a pervasive myth. As is the notion that egg yolk colour (easily faked) easily determines nutritional value. The nutrition of chicken eggs (and they are an incredibly nutrient-dense superfood that we eat daily) depends solely on the size of the egg and yolk, the diet of the chicken, health of the chicken, and the amount of sun exposure the chicken gets for increased Vitamin D3.

Learn More About Chickens:

Rhode Island Red {Worth The Hype!}
Keeping Ducks And Chickens Together {Yes You Can}
Salmon Faverolles {The Beautiful French Chicken That Lays PINK Eggs!}
Plymouth Rock {Popular For Good Reason}
Dominique Chicken {America's Oldest Heritage Breed}
Ameraucana Chicken {The Purebreed Blue Egg Layer}
The Australorp Chicken {Top-Choice Dual-Purpose Breed}
Wyandotte Chicken {The Most Beautiful Dual-Purpose Heritage Breed?}

Browse ALL The Chicken Articles ➳

Recommended Books:

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.This is a classic that everyone should have if they are planning on raising chickens. This book technically has everything you need within the pages. That being said, if you are looking for more organic and natural approaches to chicken-keeping, I recommend this book alongside something that will serve that purpose too.

The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers. This is my favourite. The most comprehensive guide to date on raising all-natural poultry for the small-scale farmer, homesteader, and professional grower. The Small-Scale Poultry Flock offers a practical and integrative model for working with chickens and other domestic fowl, based entirely on natural systems.

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Source: https://thepeasantsdaughter.net/chickens-that-lay-blue-eggs/