Why are some eggs white and some brown on the outside?

Answer 1

What's the difference between white eggs and brown eggs?
Lynn
Torrance, California
Dear Lynn:
We started by searching Yahoo! for "eggs." The results were a little too general, so we revised our search phrase to "brown eggs" (with the quotation marks) and things became clearer.

One of the first results was a link to a column from Thrive Online, an Oxygen.com site devoted to women's health. The column addressed the health benefits of brown eggs versus white eggs and concluded that there is no nutritional difference. Contrary to popular belief, brown eggs aren't a healthier alternative to white eggs.

The site explains, "The color difference is due to the specific breed of hen, according to the Egg Nutrition Center. Hens with white feathers and white earlobes will lay white eggs, whereas hens with red feathers and matching-colored earlobes give us brown eggs." But were there any other differences, we wondered?

Returning to our search results, we clicked another link and visited the web site of the Rochester Hatchery in Canada. While we didn't find any pertinent information, we did enjoy the colorful illustrations of brown-egg-laying chickens, and yes, they all had reddish-brown feathers, though we couldn't vouch for their earlobes.

At Owl Kids Online, a fun science site for kids, we learned chicken eggs aren't limited to just brown or white. They also come in blue or even a nice speckled finish (though you may have to make a special request at your local supermarket for these).

After exhausting the Yahoo! search results, we jumped over to Epicurious.com for their thoughts on the matter. We searched their food dictionary and came across the egg entry. It also assured us that the color of the eggshell had nothing to do with the taste of the egg.

So, there you have it: The difference between brown eggs and white eggs is purely cosmetic; it's just a matter of a baby taking after its mom.

Answer 2

There is no nutritional difference between white and brown eggs. It sounds crazy, but the color of the egg shell all depends on the color of the hens earlobes. If the earlobe is brown, then the egg shell will be brown and if the earlobe is white, then she will lay a white egg.

Answer 3

They come from different breeds of chickens,being organic,or bleached is not why they are different colors,There are also a greenish blue egg,it comes from an arcana chicken.The white eggs generally sold in stores are from Leghorns,the brown ones are probably from Barred rocks or Rhode Island Reds

Answer 4

Brown hens lay brown eggs and white hens lay white eggs--seriously. Most commercial eggs are white because the highest producing hens are Leghorns, which are white.

Answer 5

Company's bleach the outside. the main purpose of this is to actually prove that all chicken feces has been removed from the egg visibly. Brown eggs go through the same cleaning process aside from the bleach and are just as clean, but they are BROWN. Bad Idea for any egg company to keep them brown in my opinion!

Answer 6

White eggs are the genetically engineered ones. Brown are natural.

Answer 7

white eggs are from chickens brown are from hens better yet how come you get a double yolk in a dozen every now and then

Answer 8

it comes from the type of chicken

Answer 9

organic and the fresh farm type