Easter Egger Coturnix Quail who Lay Colored Eggs {with pictures!}

Easter Egger Coturnix quail? Does such a thing exist? Take a peek at these egg colors coming from our project pen! Here is what our hens have laid as we have bred for colorful “Easter Egger” celadon Coturnix Quail:

Easter Egger Coturnix Quail who Lay Colored Eggs jumbo celadon speckled blue celadons

Colored Egg Laying Easter Egger Coturnix Quail

There is a hybrid chicken called an Easter Egger. When Chilean chickens were discovered to lay blue eggs and their exported offspring (Araucanas) made their way into the US, their beautiful blue egg genes were almost instantly used to breed hybrid blue and green colored egg layers. After I got my first covey, I wondered if the same could be done with celadon Coturnix quail? Could I breed Easter Egger quail?

Easter Egger Coturnix Quail who Lay Colored Eggs in speckled blue, powder blue, speckled green and heavy bloom purple in a white tray

The Celadon Blue Egg Gene

What makes Easter Egger laying hens possible is that the blue egg gene is dominant in chickens. In quail the celadon (blue) egg gene is recessive and requires two copies in order for the quail hen to lay blue eggs. But the eggs aren’t always blue…and that is what began my breeding experiments.

ring of blue celadon eggs laid by cotirnix quail in different shades of aqua and green — The eggs here were all laid by my standard size celadon Coturnix quail hens in May 2021. Yet some are powder blue, others were vibrant blue, and a couple were very clearly GREEN. It made me wonder if a type of “Easter Egger” Celadon quail could be bred?

Speckled Celadon are Easy to Breed

My experimenting led me to breed Speckled Celadon Coturnix quail who lay freckled eggs. It is a fun breeding project! And it is so easy that many backyard keepers breed these on accident simply by mixing their coveys a bit. For me, Speckled Celadon count as “Easter Egger” quail because they tend to lay shades of blue, bluey-green and green. But what additional hues or colors are possible?

Easter Egger Coturnix Quail eggs in an egg carton — These eggs were photographed on cloudy day in cool shade to capture the very visible purple tones of the heavy bloom eggs. The purple heavy bloom eggs were all laid by the same hen.

Purple Coturnix Quail Eggs

Imagine my surprise when one of my quail hens began laying heavy bloom PURPLE eggs. HOW? Turns out she was eating some of the Sweet PDZ zeolite granules I use for odor control in the coop. This seemed to be contributing to or causing the heavy bloom. In Coturnix quail, heavy blooms can sometimes have a lavender or purple cast to them if they are thickly bloomed. Lighter blooms can appear very faintly lavender, dusty lavender-grayish, or whitish.

Easter Egger Coturnix Quail Eggs in speckled blue, powder blue, speckled green and heavy bloom purple on a white dish — Some heavy bloom quail eggs look purple in real life.

Can You Breed For Purple Heavy Bloom Coturnix Quail Eggs?

Maybe? They seem to be a novelty that just happens among some hens. Only one hen laid eggs with a purple heavy bloom. The purple heavy bloom eggs had shells that felt thick but chalky. It might be difficult for them to lose enough moisture to hatch. (I have not yet attempted to breed heavy bloom quail so this will require further experimenting!)

Can You Breed for Grayish Quail Eggs?

I once had a celadon hen that laid speckled greenish eggs with a grayish sandpaper-like “bloom” over her eggs. Almost every egg was laid that way. I called them “moon rocks” because of their appearance. None of these eggs ever hatched because the shells were always brittle and had micro-fractures throughout that lost entirely too much moisture during the first few days of incubation.

dark green gray coturnix quail eggs — “Moon rock” eggs one of my standard celadon hens laid in 2021. They featured a grayish sandpaper-like deposit over a bluey-green egg. I tried to incubate multiple but not one of them ever had a chick hatch. They all dried out rapidly in the incubator because the brittle shells contained micro-fractures.

Can Quail Lay Green Eggs?

Yes they can! I have had several who lay green speckled eggs regularly. It was the most common color my first Jumbo celadon hens laid. Why are they green? I believe it is because the quail hen still has brown overlay genes in her recent ancestry. Even though she’s carrying two recessive celadon genes and lays eggs with a blue shell, there hasn’t been enough selective breeding for pure, clean, bright blue. So some hens may lay speckled green eggs. They’re beautiful!

Easter Egger Coturnix Quail eggs in celadon blue, olive green and heavy bloom purple — The single “olive” quail egg in this image truly was olive green. She laid it on the same day I found the second purple heavy bloom egg and a heavy bloom regular quail egg. Photographed in a white dough bowl in cool shade to best capture the different blue, green, and purple tones.

Easter Egger Coturnix Quail eggs in celadon blue, olive green and heavy bloom purple in bright sunlight — The same eggs moved into bright sunlight for another picture. The rainbow of colors is fun but heavy bloom purple and over-pigmented “olive” eggs are coincidental and not the type of egg you will get every day.

What Makes “Olive” Quail Eggs?

I have seen quail lay a true olive egg. But never two in a row. Why? I believe the “olive” color is caused by the hen retaining the egg for some reason (could be stress related) and it continues to be covered in pigment. Quail hens who normally lay a blue egg can lay darker teal or greenish eggs when this happens. Quail hens who normally lay bluey-green or green eggs can lay olive toned eggs if the egg is retained for too long. Among standard cream-and-brown laying quail, the eggs simply get more brown. This is not a genetic trait that can be bred for, it is simply something that happens on occasion to quail hens and the egg looks a bit different that day.

Can I Breed for Brilliant Blue?

Yes you can! This is done by selective breeding. Some few quail hens will lay eggs that are brilliant blue while others lay powder blue shades. A small breeding group of only the richest blue layers with a celadon rooster should produce a percent of offspring who also lay rich blue eggs. Breeding these hatchmates together for a couple generations will hopefully help “set” the genes. Males from this group can then be added to any other celadon breeding group to try to enhance the blue shades offspring will lay.

3 speckled celadon blue coturnix quail eggs

Are There Dietary Tricks that Change Egg Color?

I believe so. I found that offering my celadon hens a teaspoon of wild bird suet containing white millet (as a fat boost in cold spring weather), caused them to lay eggs that were wildly vibrant. My covey laid green tones that were both mint ice cream in shade and others that were olivey and some that were blindingly blue. I sincerely believe it was the fat content in the suet cake that caused the oomph in egg colors that came from my celadon pen for a couple days after being given the suet. As I mentioned above, my quail hens who eat a little of the fresh, dry Sweet PDZ granules I add to the coop for odor control can sometimes lay heavy bloomed eggs afterwards.

Easter Egger Coturnix Quail eggs in a carton — These are the quail egg colors you can most easily breed for!

Do Colored Egg Laying Easter Egger Coturnix Quail actually Exist?

Yes, but only in the blue and green shade range. Which should come as no surprise because Easter Egger chickens also lay shades of blue and green eggs. The “peach” (brown) egg layers among Easter Egger chicken hens are similar to our quail who lay common cream-and-brown eggs. Other egg colors that pop up at random do not seem to be genetically reproducible. They are an accident or a tendency, not an actual genetic trait that can be bred for. Quail who lay blue or greenish shades are properly called Celadon Coturnix quail since they carry the recessive blue egg genes.

How Can I Try to Breed for Easter Egger Coturnix Quail?

If you’re in love with pretty colored quail eggs, breeding for Speckled Celadon or Jumbo Celadon is going to produce beautiful egg layers! The quail can’t help it; the way their egg color genes combine and re-combine is what produces the blue, bluey-green and green color variations, often with speckling. (I recognize that I am making some quail breeders cringe because they have spent years breeding for perfectly smooth, bright blue eggs and now we want to bring the speckling and green tones back in!) If you have quail, you’re going to get some weird quail eggs!

Breeding for Jumbo Celadon Quail:

Breeding for JUMBO egg laying Celadon Coturnix quail can be tricky. If you’d like my “secret recipe” breeding guide, it is available in my shop:

Most of the eggs shown in this article came from my project pen where I was attempting to breed more Jumbo Celadon quail.

Easter Egger Quail = Celadon Quail?

YES! No matter what name a breeder gives her breeding project, colored eggs are generally laid by celadon Coturnix quail. Heavy bloom eggs may be a trait that could be selectively bred for, the way it is bred for among chickens, but it will require further experimentation. But trust me when I say that as you breed for celadon layers, you’re going to get some beautifully wacky eggs!

Easter Egger Coturnix Quail eggs in celadon blue, olive green and heavy bloom purple in a white wood tray

Colored Egg Laying Coturnix Quail are Wanted!

Variety is the spice of life and as more urban and suburban families discover quail keeping, the demand for colored quail eggs will always be there. If you are looking for a surprisingly profitable side-hustle, breeding celadon quail who lay colorful eggs will bring in easy seasonal income. Quail tend to lay eggs from the end of February or March through November before taking a winter bread. As long as your quail are laying, there will be people who want to purchase hatching eggs, quail chicks and 3 week old coop-ready juveniles.

If you would like to experiment with breeding colorful celadon quail eggs, check out our other articles: