Brown Eggs vs White Eggs

Contrary to popular belief, brown eggs are not a healthier alternative to white eggs. There is no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs.

Comparison chart

Improve this chart	Brown Eggs	White Eggs
Laid by:	Hens with red feathers and matching-colored earlobes lay brown eggs.	Hens with white feathers and white earlobes lay white eggs.

1 Why the difference in color?
2 Hens that lay brown vs white eggs
3 Price
4 See Also

edit Why the difference in color?

The color difference is due to the specific breed of hen, according to the Egg Nutrition Center. Hens with white feathers and white earlobes generally lay white eggs, whereas hens with red feathers and matching-colored earlobes usually lay brown eggs. However, there are exceptions. The color really depends upon the pigments that are deposited on the egg as it makes its way through the oviduct.

White and Brown Eggs

edit Hens that lay brown vs white eggs

The most common breeds of chickens used for egg-laying are the White Leghorn, the Rhode Island Red, and the New Hampshire. White Leghorn chickens are white and lay white eggs. Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire chickens are reddish brown and lay brown or brown-speckled eggs.

edit Price

Brown eggs may be more expensive because the chickens that lay them eat more than those that lay white eggs." Among the breeds that lay brown eggs are the Rhode Island Red, the New Hampshire and the Plymouth Rock -- all larger birds that require more food. However, there are exceptions so the prices you find at the grocery store may be different.

Current prices for a few brands are available on Amazon.com:

edit See Also

Comments: Brown Eggs vs White Eggs

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Anonymous comments

As a consumer, I think we look at eggs differently today than we did just 10 years ago. White and brown eggs are being raised in the proper manner, whereas 10 years ago, it seemed the brown ones were locally raised and the white ones came from the big farm factories. I buy my eggs from the farmer next door, and they have a variety of colors in the egg carton...from white to brown to light green. They're all good, as long as they're fresh!
207.✗.✗.242 on 2012-04-04 12:16:43

This is all a huge misconception. I'm on a missin to prove white eggs are no different than brown. The problem is people compare white eggs from commercial battery chickens with brown eggs from the farm. Many backyard chicken farmers choose breeds that produce brown eggs rather than say a leghorn ( that is what I farm) I treat my hens like gold and I have a shell tough as nails, thick whites and dark golden yolks. It frustrates one when no one wants to buy your eggs cause they're white. I thought America was against discrimination? Lol. I prefer leghorns cause they're small and have a smaller appetite than their large counterparts. They're so efficient and very pretty to look at. Mine weigh 4-4.5 pds. have the run of the coop and food is always there for the pickins
72.✗.✗.187 on 2012-03-27 03:09:32

The only brown eggs I've had are from our own chicken farm, and they taste TONS better than the white eggs. My parents have worked at chicken plants, and it's easy to see why people think brown eggs taste better. Usually... not all the time, brown eggs are farm raised (at home) and white eggs, are at the Pilgrim's Pride farms or Tyson. They only use the white chickens with the white ear lobes there, and they aren't fed good. Same if you bought brown eggs from the same people. Raise the chickens yourself, and you have delicious eggs with a very rich yolk.
24.✗.✗.37 on 2011-11-23 09:06:08

The difference in the price of brown vs white eggs is all in marketing. Here in the Midwest, brown eggs are a dollar or more a dozen higher in price. Why? Because the marketers and the stores have convinced their buyers that brown eggs are more natural, and therefore "better." People here actually think white eggs have been bleached! Difference in quality has everything to do with what the hens are fed and how they are treated. Our "pastured" (or free-range) hens eat green grass, weed seeds, and all the bugs they can catch. The result is thick shells with heavy lining, smooth whites, and durable, dark amber yolks. Much richer taste and lower cholesterol than "store boughten" eggs. Ours are Buff Orphington and Black Barred breeds. All brown eggs.
97.✗.✗.236 on 2011-07-22 19:21:02

Why, then, don't we ever see cartons of eggs mixed brown and white?
24.✗.✗.204 on 2010-11-28 07:20:36

there is but one difference, and i don't care if you agree or not, I've seen it for myself many, many times. While there is no actual taste difference, if you like fried eggs, you're better off buying the white eggs if you can find them. In a brown egg (here in Maine almost ALL eggs are brown, white eggs have only been available outside easter for about ten years with the advent of wal mart groceries), the brown egg is MUCH more fragile and when you turn it over, the yolk is a lot more likely to break. When I fry white eggs, I never break a yolk. I buy the cheaper brown eggs for everything but for fried eggs I pay a dollar more a dozen and the yolk never breaks. However, if you eat scrambled eggs, it makes absolutely no difference. White eggs are a waste of money unless you are making fried eggs. I did notice that outside of new england it's the opposite, the brown ones are a dollar more. Here the white ones cost more
64.✗.✗.74 on 2010-08-26 17:18:41

We have just got 2 hens with red earlobes but laying white eggs?
92.✗.✗.71 on 2010-07-28 12:58:25

It's not the color of the shell that makes a difference in the taste, it's what the chicken eats. You could take that same commercial White Leghorn that spends its short life (they're burned out after about six months) inside a cage barely big enough to turn around in and being fed 'hot' feed to make it lay one, sometimes two, eggs a day and put it in a free range environment, like my chickens, and the pale yellows would turn almost amber and taste like an egg should. Shell color actually has nothing to do with taste or nutrition.
75.✗.✗.53 on 2010-02-26 17:29:30

So are they both the same fat wise... is one better for a diet?
68.✗.✗.246 on 2010-01-13 02:40:14

Xanthaphyl gives yolk a darker color......not protein.
131.✗.✗.130 on 2010-01-11 15:33:24

Chickens (any color) with red ear lobes lay colored (brown, or blueish green) eggs and chickens (any color) with white ear lobes lay white eggs. Also, the reason brown eggs taste better is because they are usually cage free which means that the chickens are free to eat bugs, giving them protein which turns the yolks yellow... also, chickens that lay brown eggs DON'T eat more than white egg laying chickens.... they're more expensive because people want something different, and those are unusual in stores.....
72.✗.✗.62 on 2009-05-14 22:53:18

I have found that there is a bit of a better taste to the brown eggs. Not much though. Also the brown eggs have a very orange yolk.
24.✗.✗.128 on 2009-05-06 00:51:28