Ever since Martha Stewart appeared on television several years ago holding a basket of blue eggs laid by her chickens, the demand for the blue egg laying breeds has skyrocketed.

There are predominantly three breeds that come to mind when you're talking blue eggs - the Ameraucana, Araucana and Easter Egger (although Cream Legbars do lay blue eggs as well and are just becoming available in the US).

But only two of the three always lay blue eggs, so you'll want to keep reading and be sure of what you're ordering this spring if you are determined to have blue eggs in your basket come fall!

I have raised all three types of the blue egg layers.

Unfortunately, the two Araucanas I hatched both turned out to be roosters, so I was out of luck there with blue eggs from them, and every Easter Egger I have ever raised has laid green eggs - some a pale mint color, others a sage green - always very pretty, but never blue eggs, so all my blue eggs have always come from Ameraucanas.

Ameraucana vs. Araucana vs. Easter Egger: The Blue Egg Layers

So anyway, back to the three different breeds, here are the basic differences between them:

AMERAUCANAS

Ameraucanas are a pure breed that has been recognized by the APA (American Poultry Association) since 1984.

They were most likely originally bred from South American blue egg laying breeds but were developed and standardized in the United States.

They come in eight distinct colors including, Blue, Black, White and Wheaten, which all share these distinct Ameraucana traits:

Pea comb

Muffs and beard

Red earlobes

Tail

Blue legs

White foot bottoms

Always lay blue eggs