Dyeing Easter eggs is a long-held family fun tradition, but it’s one that can be quite messy. That’s likely one of the reasons why the pastel-colored eggs laid by a specific type of hen have gained popularity in recent years. Now, a California farmer is wondering if his unusual eggs have become popular enough to be the target of thieves after finding 200 of his best egg-laying hens missing. 

The Press Democrat reports that just two weeks before Easter, the owner of a boutique egg business discovered that someone had made off with nearly 200 of the hens who produce these colorful eggs.

So what makes these hens so special that someone might take a few hundred? Well, the egg proprietor says the hens — dubbed “Easter eggers” — lay eggs with shells that come in delicate shades of green, blue, rose and chocolate-brown – all but eliminating the need for extra dyeing.

“It has to be someone who knows what they’re doing and knows chickens,” the man says.

While the unusual eggs are popular year-round, the man says being without the eggs during the high-demand Easter holiday is a blow both personally and financially.

He tells the Press Democrat that he’s likely losing about $75 a day in egg proceeds and about $100 for each chicken, totaling a loss of more than $22,000.

The man says he first noticed an issue with his flock when egg production was weaker than normal.

“At this point in the season, we should be hitting 30 dozen a day, and within another month, we should have been hitting 45-to-50 dozen a day,” he said. “And right now we’re only hitting 21 — on a good day.”

While he never expected to lose his hens to “five-fingered animals,” the man is holding out hope that someone may stumble across the birds.

Until then, he says he’ll keep the coop padlocked at night.

“I didn’t want to be the guy crying wolf,” he tells the Press Democrat. “But, damn, we had a big wolf come in.”

Buddy’s Farm proprietor discovers loss of hundreds of hens [The Press Democrat]

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