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 o