Which Chickens Lay Pink Eggs?

Chickens that lay pink eggs don’t lay a true pink, but a few breeds lay a pale, tinted egg with a soft pink blush. Salmon Faverolles, Croad Langshans, and Orpingtons are the breeds to look for if you want that blush in your egg basket.

A pink egg is a light brown or cream egg with just a little pigment on it. The bloom, the thin coating on the outside of the shell, can give it a rosy cast, and how thick that coating is changes how pink the egg looks.

That’s why you won’t find a breed that lays only pink eggs. You’ll find breeds that lay tinted, cream, or light brown eggs, and some of those hens lay eggs that really do look pink.

If you’re putting together a rainbow basket, my guide to chicken egg colors covers every shade. Pair pink eggs with blue eggs, green eggs, and the very dark brown eggs from Marans for the full range.

What Makes an Egg Look Pink?

A brown eggshell starts out white. Brown eggs get their color from a pigment called protoporphyrin, which the hen adds in the shell gland during the last few hours before she lays the egg.

A pink egg has only a light dose of that same pigment. How much pigment there is sets how deep the color looks, so a pink egg is really a pale brown one.

The rest comes from the bloom, or cuticle, the thin coating that goes on just before the hen lays the egg. A pale brown shell with a thick bloom can look pinkish, and the bloom varies a little from egg to egg.

Inside, a pink egg looks pale, the same as any brown egg. The color is all on the outside of the shell.

Why Pink Eggs Come and Go

A hen that lays pink eggs won’t lay the same shade all year. Light brown and tinted eggs get paler as the laying season goes on, and they darken again after a molt or a break.

Hens also lay a lighter egg as they age, because their eggs get bigger while the amount of pigment stays about the same. Stress, illness, and some medications can wash out the color too.

So if your pink layer starts laying cream eggs in late summer, she’s probably fine. The pink usually comes back with the next laying cycle.

Chickens That Lay Pink Eggs

These breeds lay eggs that sources describe as tinted, cream, pinkish, or light brown with a pink cast. None of them lay pink every time, but they give you good odds.

Egg color varies by line and by hen, so ask a breeder who knows their flock what their hens actually lay.

Salmon Faverolles

Faverolles come from the village of Faverolles, southwest of Paris, and the breed took shape in the 1880s. The Livestock Conservancy describes their eggs as tinted, and some hatcheries call them light brown to pinkish.

Hens weigh about 6 1/2 pounds and lay around 150 to 200 or more eggs a year. They’re gentle, curious birds with beards, muffs, and feathered feet, and they keep laying through the winter.

Faverolles are cold hardy but need extra care in hot weather. The Livestock Conservancy lists the breed on its watch list, so they’re worth keeping for more than their eggs.

My Salmon Faverolles breed guide covers their temperament and care in detail.

Light Sussex

Sussex chickens come from southeast England, and the Light variety joined the American Poultry Association standard in 1929. They’re white with black feathers around the neck, wings, and tail.

Sources disagree on the egg color. The Livestock Conservancy says tan to brown, while the University of Alberta and Greenfire Farms describe Light Sussex eggs as cream, so expect a pale egg that can lean pink.

Hens weigh about 7 pounds and lay roughly 200 to 250 eggs a year. They’re calm, curious birds that do well in winter, but they aren’t fond of the heat.

My list of cold hardy chicken breeds has more breeds that keep laying through a cold winter.

Croad Langshan

The Croad Langshan is an old breed from eastern China, brought to England in 1872 from Wolf Hill near Nantong. British keepers know its eggs as plum eggs, a pinkish brown with a bloom on them when they’re newly laid.

The American Langshan is the same old breed, and the Livestock Conservancy describes its eggs as brown, sometimes very dark brown with a purplish tint. Expect anything from pinkish brown to plum.

Hens weigh about 7 1/2 pounds and lay around 150 eggs a year. They’re calm and easy to tame, and the Livestock Conservancy lists them as threatened.

The darkest Langshan eggs show up in my list of chickens that lay dark brown eggs, too.

Orpingtons

William Cook developed Orpingtons in Orpington, Kent, and first showed them in 1886. Most sources call their eggs light brown, and the Livestock Conservancy says light to dark brown.

Still, some Orpingtons lay a cream egg with a pink hue. Ours laid a pretty, light pink egg, and Meyer Hatchery describes its Lavender Orpington eggs as brown to light pink tinted.

Hens weigh about 8 pounds, and they’re calm, friendly birds that are lovely with kids. They go broody often, which is a plus if you want to hatch chicks and a nuisance if you don’t.

My Orpington breed guide covers the colors, care, and personality. They’re also on my list of broody chicken breeds.

Silkies

Silkies lay small cream or tinted eggs, and some of them have a faint pink cast. They’re not big layers, though, since about 100 to 120 eggs a year is typical for a Silkie.

What they’re good at is sitting on eggs. Silkies are famously broody, and they’ll happily hatch eggs from your other hens.

They’re tiny, gentle birds, but their fluffy feathers don’t shed water, so they struggle in cold, wet weather. A dry coop matters more for Silkies than for most breeds.

My Silkie breed guide covers their care, and you’ll find them on my lists of bantam chicken breeds and fluffy chicken breeds, too.

Bielefelders

Bielefelders are a German breed from the 1970s, and hatcheries describe their eggs as light brown, often with pink undertones and a few speckles. The eggs are large, which makes the pink easy to see.

The hens are gentle, friendly birds, and you can sex the chicks by color the day they hatch. My Bielefelder breed guide has the rest.

Easter Eggers

Easter Eggers are mixed birds that carry the blue egg gene, so most of them lay blue or green eggs. Now and then, though, a hen lays a rose or brown egg instead.

You can’t tell which color a hen will lay until she starts laying, and each hen lays one color for life. My guide to chickens that lay blue eggs explains how Easter Eggers differ from Ameraucanas and Araucanas.

More Breeds with Tinted Eggs

A few more breeds lay pale eggs that can show a pink cast. The Livestock Conservancy describes Australorp eggs as tinted to light brown, Chantecler eggs as light to pinkish brown, and Catalana eggs as white to light pink.

On the small side, Mille Fleur d’Uccle bantams lay cream or tinted eggs, and Dorkings lay white to cream eggs. My list of chicken breeds from A to Z covers them all.

What About Barred Rocks?

Barred Rocks show up on a lot of pink egg lists, including the old version of this one. They lay brown eggs, though, and the Livestock Conservancy describes them as large and brown.

We raised Barred Rocks for our first 8 to 10 years of keeping chickens. They’re steady, dependable, hardy layers, but they’re the place to go for brown eggs, not pink ones.

My Barred Rock breed guide covers the breed, and my list of chickens that lay brown eggs has more like them.

If you want white eggs in the mix instead, my list of chickens that lay white eggs has plenty to choose from.

Do Any Chickens Lay Purple Eggs?

No chicken lays a truly purple egg. There’s no purple pigment in eggshells, only brown and blue, in different amounts.

A few eggs do look purple, though. A thick bloom can make a dark brown egg look purple, and the Livestock Conservancy says some Langshan eggs are very dark brown with a purplish tint.

Pink Egg FAQs

Here are quick answers to the questions people ask most about pink eggs.

More Egg Color Guides

More ways to fill your basket with color.

Which Chickens Lay White Eggs?

Which Chickens Lay Brown Eggs?

Chicken Egg Colors: Which Breeds Lay Which Color?

Raising Chickens

More ideas for raising a healthy backyard flock.

How to Make Eggshell Powder (& 10+ Ways to Use It)

Ameraucana Chicken Breed Guide

Bielefelder Chickens Breed Guide