7 Chicken Breeds That Lay Blue Eggs

Eggs are the very best part of owning a flock of chickens. They’re the freshest, best-tasting eggs you will ever have, bar none, and bringing in a basket full of those perfect little jewels every morning is one of life’s great pleasures.

And compared to the eggs you get in the grocery store, your flock will lay eggs in many different shades: white, off-white, cream, tan, brown, speckled, and even blue!

It’s true: there are a few chicken breeds out there that lay gorgeous blue eggs. They can make for a dramatic presentation and are tons of fun to share with your family, friends, and neighbors. Keep reading, and I’ll tell you about seven such breeds…

Ameraucana

One of the most popular and probably the most well-known breeds that lay blue eggs. Developed from the rarer Araucana, the next bird on our list, in an effort to improve productivity while removing lingering bad genetics that often cause that breed so many health issues.

Ameraucanas are medium-sized birds and a true dual-purpose breed, raised for their egg-laying ability but also for meat. A mature hen will usually crank out about 200 medium blue eggs yearly and will do so for several years before she starts to slow down.

Something prospective keepers should know is that this breed has a reputation for being a bit temperamental…

Talk to one keeper, and they will tell you their Ameraucanas are sweet, baby angels that wouldn’t hurt a fly. Another keeper will swear that these chickens show as much spirit as any game bird! If you must have docile chickens, you might need to account for losses to culling or rehoming.

In any case, Ameraucanas come in several colors, ranging from blue, black, and silver to various white and off-white shades.

Araucana

Without this renowned South American breed, we wouldn’t have the Ameraucana we just talked about. These chickens are famed for their distinctive head plumage, which consists of whisker-like tufts of feathers on either side of their beak, and they are also known and loved for their deep blue, gorgeous eggs.

They’ve been difficult to find in the U.S. for years, and even if you do manage to track down the breed or a vetted breeder, you’ve got to be prepared for health issues: Araucanas are known to suffer from congenital defects that can result in stillborn chicks, hearing issues, susceptibility to common poultry diseases, and more.

Not all of these birds do, but enough that you should always keep it in mind. Assuming that isn’t a deterrent for you, you’ll find that Araucanas are big, curious, generally friendly, and quite prolific layers. Sexually mature hens usually lay 200 to 225 big blue eggs a year while in their prime.

Something else to know is that hens tend to be broody; great for expanding your flock naturally, but not good if you want to maximize production!

If you want a more exotic blue egg layer, definitely consider these big, dignified birds.

Arkansas Blue

Now here’s a breed that definitely lives up to the name! There’s a clue to the origin of the Arkansas Blue in the name: these birds were developed as a specialized crossbreed at the University of Arkansas and specifically created by crossbreeding Araucanas with White Leghorns.

The intention was to create a domestic chicken that would produce a huge amount of eggs—blue, of course!—and have better health and reproductive success than its South American sire.

The great minds at UA certainly succeeded! In terms of production and health, the Arkansas Blue is a marvel, being highly vigorous, minimally broody, and quite healthy. Average egg production ranges from 250 to 300 eggs a year. But there are some distinct drawbacks prospective keepers need to know about.

For starters, logistically, these chickens can be challenging to own, mainly because they are so rare. They are only now starting to proliferate slowly across the U.S., and even then, only in the care of specialized breeders.

Next, the Arkansas Blue already has a reputation for being standoffish, flighty, and not at all a good candidate for a sweet and friendly pet chicken. If that’s important to you, you might want to think twice. Otherwise, though, get ready to enjoy the bluest eggs you will ever see!

Cream Legbar

A crossbreed with truly distinguished parentage, the Cream Legbar was developed from Araucanas, Leghorns, and Barred Rocks in jolly old England. The goal was to produce a healthy super-layer, which the breeders succeeded at. The pale blue eggs, renowned for their beauty, were just a happy byproduct!

The Cream Legbar shares the physical features of all of its parents, including the heavy feathering of the Barred Rock and the vestigial head plumage of the Araucana.

By today’s standards, the Cream Legbar is not particularly impressive when it comes to laying eggs. Females will crank out between 180 and 200 a year for the first few years of their life.

That might be a letdown for commercial production, but a few of these girls can keep a family rolling in eggs! They also make a wonderful backyard breed.

They enjoy good health and are quite curious and independent. If you like to let your flock free-range, this is one of the best blue layers on this list. Take care that you protect ornamental plants, though! They have big appetites…

Dongxiang

A mysterious, almost ominous breed that is basically unknown in the West, the Chinese Dongxiang is a pure black chicken: feathers, eyes, beak, skin, muscles, and their very organs are jet black!

Their eggs, accordingly, are a dark royal blue color. Both eggs and meat are said to be delicacies in their homeland, but there are precious few of these birds in Europe or the United States.

With the increasing interest in chicken keeping throughout the U.S., hopefully, public demand will see us learn more about these majestic and vaguely eerie chickens.

Easter Egger

Easter Eggers are the mutts of the chicken world. This non-breed is a catch-all term that applies to any crossbreed or hybrid birds that lay blue eggs.

Depending on the parentage, they vary significantly in appearance, with the only commonality being the fact that they lay colored eggs.

If you don’t care about having a purebred chicken or a heritage breed, Easter Eggers make marvelously good practical chickens: they tend to be robustly healthy and fairly good producers, laying up to 200 eggs a year and sometimes a little bit more.

Whiting True Blue

A relatively recent breed that was first developed in the 1990s from two other breeds already on this list, the Araucana and the Cream Legbar, the Whiting True Blue is very hardy, very friendly, and an extremely good layer of bright blue eggs, cranking out an average of 250.

If you live in a bitterly cold place, this is the best blue layer you can get: they are heavily feathered and thrive even in the coldest weather. Bear in mind, these are surprisingly athletic birds; they’ll need extra room in the run compared to other species if you aren’t going to let them free-range.