Brown Eggs v White Eggs?

It’s cheaper to produce white shelled eggs

Oops just dived in as per usual! DAReturns. Just quickly scanned the thread half a sleep.
I later realised it was Sainsburys who are stopping the sale of brown eggs & not the government ( although they probably put the idea in their brains).
Burford’s eggs are the only eggs I like, as they don’t give me chronic indigestion.

grandMattie

You are quite right, clg. But the thickness of the shell and the depth of the yolk colour are down to the feed!

Age of the hen also affcts thickness of shell. Elderly hens egg shells get thinner due to calcium depletion, and sometimes they lay shell-less eggs

it is as usual all about money.
Why do brown eggs often cost more?Brown eggs are generally more expensive because the hens that lay them are typically larger and consume more feed. This higher production cost is passed on to the consumer

shysal

I read that a supplement given to colour the yolks is from Marigolds. At least it is a natural product rather than synthetic.

Possibly marigolds, more usually Maize, any kind of green leaf, most often dried grass or Lucerne, even carrots could be used. Because chicken food is a cereal based balanced ration, what is used depends on the relative cost of each ingredient.

I read that a supplement given to colour the yolks is from Marigolds. At least it is a natural product rather than synthetic.

Always thought the colour of the eggs was down to the colour of the hen's festhers. Hadn't noticed Sainsbury's offering a choice of colour of hen's eggs.

I think they should be half and half, like some chocolates, best of both worlds

Padstow13

Sainsbury will stop selling brown eggs as it's claimed they have a higher carbon footprint.

Other supermarkets have declared they will still give the customer a choice.

I prefer brown because white shells have always seemed more delicate. Or maybe it's a figment of imagination, but I hope I'll still be able to choose.

Egg shell colour is dependent on the breed and sometimes colour of the hens. White egg shells do tend to be more fragile than brown. It could well be that there is a slightly higher carbon footprint for brown hens as they tend to be of a heavier breed than white. Nutritionally there is no difference. Colour of the yolk depends on the feed - large egg producing farms can choose from a colour chart what shade of yellow they want their yolks.....it's an additive to the feed. I was married to an egg producer and worked on the farm. I still prefer brown eggs.....but it is purely aesthetic!

Further up the thread someone gave the real answer, posh people like brown eggs, they can afford the extra cost, so it's just snob value.

Maybe efficiency will win over snob value, eggs are eggs, big ones cost more than small, supermarkets make more money from premium large brown eggs.

Bazza

I’m an eggaholic and am much more interested in what’s inside than the colour of the shell.

Me too. I think they're the same, though someone posted here suggesting that the small eggs white eggs have bigger yolks.

I’m an eggaholic and am much more interested in what’s inside than the colour of the shell.

I expect they will all shift over eventually.
🤷‍♀️

The white birds are smaller framed hence eating 15g less. The eggs, apparently, are the same sizes as those from brown hens.

I just looked at the Ocado and Morrisons sites. All their eggs seem to be free range now, and the "sized" white eggs seem to be just as expensive as the brown ones - as usual the mixed sizes are cheaper.
When I was a student I used to buy white eggs from Sainsbury's because they were cheaper, and now that I usually poach them for breakfast the colour of the shell makes no difference to us at all. I do prefer large eggs though.

We keep chickens. Different breeds lay different egg colours.. we have a white hen laying pale blue eggs. We once had a hen that laid pretty olive green eggs.
It's only the colour of the shell that is different. Everything else is excellent same , physically and nutritionally.
When I was a child in the late 50s/early 60s we only ever had white eggs at home.
Then Mum started getting some brown ones.... She thought they were " better for you ".
I read that the fashion for brown shells started with the Queen mother who preferred brown eggs. This led to the belief they were superior in some way . Eventually everyone wanted brown eggs and for many years it seemed that was the only colour hens laid.
I did wonder why white ones have started reappearing. Perhaps Camilla prefers hers white !

My family and friends baked the eggshells first to sterilise them before crushing to and prevent cannibalism.

They are a perfect form of grit.

JennyCee

We used to keep hens and have quite a few. We were advised by the chap who left them in the garden of the house we bought from him to grind the shells of the eggs we used which helped to make the new egg shells stronger.

Do you mean you feed the egg shells back to the chickens? Otherwise can’t see why you do that.

My dad used to give our chickens ‘grit’, not sure if that was for their shells or to stop them being constipated!

We used to keep hens and have quite a few. We were advised by the chap who left them in the garden of the house we bought from him to grind the shells of the eggs we used which helped to make the new egg shells stronger.

Seems a very odd idea to me. We have our own hens. The breeds we currently have produce brown and blue eggs. We have had others that produce the white ones. These chickens are all hybrids, produced in the UK and easily available. Are you sure this isn’t a daft social media story?

The colour of a hen's eggs is dependent on the breed of the chicken, i.e. DNA and has nothing whatsoever to do with the hen's diet:
"Chickens lay different colored eggs because of breed-specific genetics, not because of diet, nutrition, or environment."
hatchingtime.com/blogs/home/why-do-chickens-lay-different-colored-eggs

Yes, really yellow yolks are a result of what supplement they feed to the hens.

I just feel white eggs look a bit ‘anaemic’.

Brown eggs were a special treat as a child. The norm was white. Or pink/purple/green at Easter wrapped in onion skins.

I read that article and thought Sainsbury’s decision was based more on economics than carbon footprints. I thought the quality of an egg must have more bearing on its feed and quality of life. Smaller eggs just seem to fit the usual pattern of late which gives you less for your money. Will Sainsbury’s eggs be cheaper? I use a fair amount of eggs and want the choice. So far they have delivered mainly brown. Hope this continues or Iwill have to ask my dd to order them from Morrisons.

I buy free range from my neighbour via the local shop. They are all colours and sizes - blue, white, brown, olive - and they all taste delicious. Lovely with fresh asparagus from the garden.