Chickens Have Earlobes?

I'm reading until I dream even more of chickens!  Then yesterday while talking to my farming friend, Betsy, I heard an interesting fact...you can tell what color your eggs will be according to the color of the hen's earlobes!  First of all I had no idea they had ear lobes.

So I came home and did a little research...and sure enough she was right.

 

Before you get too excited...no these are not my eggs...they came from Kroger.  But soon, very soon those little peepers will be living the life in the backyard.

 

Some interesting facts that I am sure someday will end up as answers on Jeopardy.

 

Eggs shells are made of calcium carbonate.  The white shells have no brown pigment over the surface or blue within the shell.

 

Egg color is often (but not always) tied to the chickens earlobe color.

white=white eggs

red=brown eggs

 

The pigment is not part of the egg shell but is more like paint on the surface.  You can even wipe your eggs and make the color lighter if you catch them just after then hen has laid them. 

 

Eggs are darkest in the fall and winter when the hens are laying less eggs.  In late spring and summer they are laying more heavily and their 'paint' gets used up.  And older hens produce less pigment.

 

Blue egg shells actually contain a by product of the chickens production of bile.  It is not a coating like the brown eggs have it is throughout the eggs shell.

 

Now we are all going to win big money on Jeopardy.