MARCELLON, Wis. -- Brown eggs from OrgaNick Pastures have become a household favorite for families throughout Wisconsin and now we’re excited to announce that we’ll be selling cartons of pastel-colored eggs too.
We are adding four new egg colors to be sold in 6-pack cartons at Woodman's Markets and Festival Foods across Wisconsin. Those new colors will be chocolate brown, cream, pastel blue and green eggs, which will fit nicely into all holiday plans.
These eggs aren't just here for the Easter season, and they aren't dyed by OrgaNick Pastures either. These eggs are naturally colored based on each hens' genetic makeup and they'll continue to be sold year-round in 6-pack cartons; soon, they'll also be sold in 12-packs alongside our brown eggs.
“It’s our goal to be the colorful egg company in Wisconsin, but it’s also our goal to be a leader in the industry when it comes to treating chickens humanely,” OrgaNick Pastures owner Nick Westby said. “By following organic standards, we are able to produce Wisconsin’s Favorite Eggs and the state's most colorful eggs.”
Westby and his fiancé Holly Hornback started OrgaNick Pastures in 2018 when their farm became the first certified humane, pasture-raised organic chicken farm producing brown eggs. Now they will be selling colored eggs produced on their farm in Marcellon, Wisconsin. While pastel colored eggs are popular on the East and West Coast, these are one of the first organic pastel eggs to be marketed in Wisconsin.
“Our chickens will continue to receive a high standard for quality of life, which we believe is a model for other chicken farms,” Hornback said. “We hope all farms will join us meeting this standard. The only difference between our farm producing brown eggs and the variety of colors is the color of the shells. The final product is a really cool, beautiful egg we hope everyone will enjoy.”
For people who have only purchased white eggs from their grocery store, curiosity is natural. It turns out, according to University of Wisconsin Extension poultry specialist Ron Kean, the “answer is simple: it’s genetics.”
The hens laying chocolate brown, cream, blue and green eggs at OrgaNick Pastures are Dominant CZ layer hens. There is a genetic trait in the hen that leads to a specific pigment on the egg shell.
In a video featuring Kean, he points out that the pigment of the egg shell does not affect the nutritional content in an egg. The superior flavor and nutritional content in OrgaNick Pastures eggs comes from non-genetically modified organisms and a humane, organic lifestyle which leads to more Vitamin D in the eggs.
Initially, all eggs have a colorless shell when they’re being produced by the hen. In a trip through the viaduct that takes an average of 26 hours according to Michigan State University Extension, the hen’s genetically-determined pigment is transferred onto the shell before the egg is laid.
Now, where does the color of our eggs fit in with the Easter Bunny? Well, Peter Cottontail wasn’t available to answer questions but did offer this comment: “These are my favorite eggs.”