Do you prefer white eggs or brown eggs?

It's the first question people ask me at the farm — and the honest answer might surprise you: the color of the shell says nothing about what's inside.

A brown egg and a white egg from healthy hens have the same nutrition, the same taste, and the same protein. If you crack them side by side into a bowl, you won't tell them apart. The difference is only on the outside.

The color comes from the hen, not the egg

Brown-egg hens deposit a pigment called protoporphyrin on the shell in the last few hours before laying. That's why the inside of a brown shell is still white — the pigment is only a coat on the outside. White-egg hens, like Leghorns, simply don't add that pigment.

Here's a fun trick farmers use: you can often guess the egg color by the hen's earlobes. White earlobes usually mean white eggs; red earlobes usually mean brown eggs. It works most of the time — nature has its own color code.

What about shell strength?

Shell hardness has nothing to do with color either. It depends on the hen's age and her diet — calcium, above all. A young, well-fed hen lays a strong shell, white or brown. An older hen, or one short on calcium, lays a thinner shell, whatever the color.

So what actually matters?

If color doesn't change nutrition, taste, or strength, what should you look for in an egg? Three things:

1. How the hen lives. A hen that lives outside, with space, sun, and calm, lays a better egg. Stress and confinement show up in the egg.

2. What the hen eats. Good feed makes a rich yolk and a strong shell.

3. Freshness. A fresh egg has a firm white, a tall yolk, and those little white cords — the chalazae — still visible. They disappear as the egg ages, so if you see them, smile: your egg is fresh.

That's what we do at Princess Flock. Our happy hens live outside on our farm in Kissimmee, and they lay beautiful brown eggs — because our hens are brown-egg layers. Same nutrition as a white egg, same taste, same protein. Just brown on the outside, and fresh on the inside.

Team white or team brown?

So tell me: are you team white or team brown? Either way, the right question isn't the color — it's where the egg came from, and how fresh it is.

Farm-fresh brown eggs, delivered to your door in Kissimmee & Orlando, or pick up at the farm on Saturday, 9am–12pm. Order online in advance at princessflock.com — and ask about our monthly egg subscription: every week, every two weeks, or once a month.

Thank you for following along,

Wagner Krohling,

Local farmer