Chickens that lay blue eggs are becoming increasingly popular for backyard farmers and commercial farmers alike. It definitely is not common to see blue eggs! Most of the eggs you see in the store are either brown, white, or cream-colored. But as blue eggs become more sought after by hobbyists and commercial farms alike, they might just become a little more common. You can get in on the blue egg craze too! Consider keeping one or more of these 7 chicken breeds.
Chickens that lay blue eggs
Below is a list of chicken breeds that lay blue eggs. Note that most of them are pretty difficult to get your hands on, but if you can find them, they’re a great addition to your backyard farm!
Easter Egger
An Easter Egger chicken is an increasingly popular breed of chicken that is most commonly kept for its unique and beautiful egg colors. The chickens are a hybrid breed, created by crossing a blue egg-laying chicken with another breed, usually a brown egg layer. These birds have a variety of colors and patterns, and the eggs they lay can range from blue to green to pink. They are a hardy breed, performing well in both cold and hot weather conditions, and they have a longer laying season than some other breeds. They are also prolific foragers, which helps reduce the cost of feed. They are a great choice for anyone looking for a unique and productive breed of chicken.
They come in a rather wide variety of sizes and colors and are occasionally confused with Ameraucanas or Araucanas. In general, Easter Eggers are considered very solid egg layers, but not very good meat birds due to their often smaller size. I’ve kept this chicken before, and one thing I’d like to caution: they fly extremely well. Keep these chickens contained or they’ll be everywhere!
Arkansas Blue
The Arkansas Blue chicken is not actually a recognized breed of chicken but is a hybrid first developed at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville by Dr. R. Keith Bramwell. In order to make an Arkansas Blue chicken, you need to cross a White Leghorn and an Araucana. The result is a white-grey colored chicken with the Auracana’s face tuft feathers that lay blue eggs. Because they’re a largely experimental breed, they’re pretty difficult to find. It is definitely an interesting chicken if you can find them though!
Azure Blue
The Azure Blue chicken is a relatively new breed that most haven’t yet heard of. They’re a cross of Welsummers, Cream Legbars, and White Legbars that were developed in the United States. They’re a good egg-laying breed, laying around 290-300 eggs in their first year of laying. The blue eggs this chicken lays are pretty large, and they start laying at 18 weeks old. They aren’t an especially large breed of chicken, with hens weighing around 4 pounds, so they aren’t exactly ideal for meat.
Lushi
Have you ever heard of a Lushi chicken? Don’t feel bad if you haven’t. This breed of chicken is from China and has only recently begun to gain popularity in the United States. It isn’t yet recognized by the American Poultry Association, but this is another type of chicken that lays blue eggs. They are fairly small, with hens only weighing around 3 pounds, and tend to be pretty lean. They aren’t good as meat birds, but they do produce lovely blue eggs.
Dongxiang
The Dongxiang Blue-shelled chicken is purportedly a highly prized chicken in China. Like the Ayam Cemani, this chicken is a fibromelanistic bird, which means its skin, muscles and organs are all black. But not its eggs! The Dongxiang lays blue-shelled eggs, as its name might suggest. This breed is challenging to get ahold of, as it largely is not in the United States yet.
Shetland Hen
Shetland hens are another type of chicken that lays blue to sometimes green eggs. It is an uncommon breed, however. This chicken originated in Scotland 500 years ago but is slowly vanishing with time and is nearing extinction. It is possible to find chicks, but they tend to be extremely expensive. 1 dozen hatching eggs typically costs $100 or more. They’re interesting-looking birds with dark foliage and crested head feathers. If you can stomach the cost, they’re a fun breed to raise!
Whiting True Blue
Last on our list is the Whiting True Blue, a breed of chicken recently developed and named after Dr. Tom Whiting. To develop this bird, Dr. Whiting crossed Ameraucana chickens with white leghorns. It isn’t a homogenized breed of chicken yet, so it tends to come in a wide variety of colors. But they do lay consistently blue eggs. They’re a good layer, producing 300 eggs during their first year of laying.
