blue or green eggs

Blue or Green Eggs & LOW Cholesterol

"I want to stash and keep for myself all of the low-cholesterol eggs!"

Rumor has it that blue or green eggs from Araucana or Ameraucana chickens are better for you.

Here are the facts; Egg shell color is determined by the chicken's genetics, The Araucana chicken has a dominant gene that creates blue egg shells.

Araucana eggs are not lower in cholesterol In fact, Araucana eggs are consistently lower in protein and higher in cholesterol than the white eggs from White Leghorn chickens, which is the most common egg sold in the U.S. The differences are not really enough to matter from a nutritional viewpoint.

Protein and cholesterol content of Araucana chicken eggs.

Somes RG Jr, Francis PV, Tlustohowicz JJ.

Comparative data collected over two years are presented which refute the popular press claims that blue-shelled eggs of Araucana chickens have higher protein levels and lower cholesterol levels than market eggs. These comparisons were made between the eggs from the strains of Araucanas and those of White Leghorns and Sex-links. None of the differences found between test groups in % protein/g. albumen and % protein/g. yolk were shown to be consistently related to any one test group type. However, all Araucana test groups were significantly (P less than .01) lower in their total egg protein content than either control group by from 2.8--6.5%. This lower total protein content was the result of a consistent increase in the yolk/albumen ratio of the Araucana eggs over the market eggs. The Araucana eggs were consistently higher in their cholesterol levels on a mg./g. yolk basis than either of the market eggs. These increased concentrattions ranged from 2.0--6.9%.

Cholesterol Content vs Egg Shell Color

The blue-green eggs of the Araucana chicken have been items of interest for several reasons. They are unusual because of the color and the breed has sometimes been called the "Easter Egg" chicken because of the pre-colored eggs. The Araucana is not a new breed in the U.S. The origin of the breed has been traced to the country of Chile and the birds were brought to the U.S. around 1920.

Another reason for attention is the report that Araucana eggs contain little or no cholesterol. Researchers at Kansas State University have published research results that indicate that the color of the shell has no influence on cholesterol content. The research work, published in Poultry Science, March 1977, compared eggs from the Leghorn and Plymouth Rock breeds with the Araucana. The results are shown below and it can be determined that in fact the Araucana eggs contained the highest level of cholesterol of the three breeds checked.

Further tests at Kansas State compared eggs from different areas of the U.S. Results of these tests indicate that there is some variation in eggs, but that the difference is not of practical value.

Cholesterol content of yolks from eggs laid by Araucana, White Leghorn, and Plymouth Rock hens.

Breed	Shell color	Cholesterol (mg./100g.)
Araucana	Blue-Green	1315
Leghorn	White	1163
Plymouth Rock	Brown	1255

Average of 6 composited samples.

An egg is an egg no matter what color the shell, is perhaps a good way to answer questions concerning cholesterol from the Araucana. Although differences do exist, from a practical standpoint the differences are not of a significant magnitude.