Hen lays green eggs, becomes a celeb

Mexico: Rabanita is an ordinary-looking hen with brown feathers but she's different from the rest because she lays green coloured pastel eggs.

This unassuming hen became a celebrity in her own right and caused quite a media frenzy on Tuesday (January 29) in her home town of Santa Maria Huecatitla, Cuautitlan, in the north of Mexico City.

She looks no different from the other chickens in the yard, but this special trait has softened the heart of her owner, Elvira Romero, who told Reuters that she won't turn her into chicken stew and will allow the hen to live until her dying day.

Romero, who feeds Rabanita chicken feed, tortillas and corn just like the other chickens, said that she had never seen a hen lay green eggs before in Mexico, but had heard of their existence in Brazil.

"It's the first time I've seen a hen lay green eggs. On an

internet program they said that these did exist in Brazil, but in Mexico this had not been seen and is a novelty. That's it."

So far they have found no explanation for this.

Romero's husband, Esteban Romero, said that he thought the eggs were rotten when he first saw them. The eggs nevertheless are perfectly fine and the yolk and white are similar in taste and colour to an ordinary egg.

"It's a novelty because I had never seen an egg like that in my life.

The first time it laid an egg, she laid a large egg and I said to my

wife: 'The egg is rotten,' and she got annoyed and replied: 'You must be joking,' but I had never seen anything like this before."

Hens that lay blue or green eggs do exist though and Rabanita could be South American.

The Araucana breed has several distinct features that no other breed

has. The most prominent - apart from having rumpled feathers and ear whiskers - is its ability to lay blue and green shelled eggs. The araucana breed is from South America near northern Chile and was first successfully bred in this country in the 1930's.

Another type is the Ameraucana chicken which is derived from the Araucana and also lays blue and green eggs.

The pure breed of both types lay bright blue and green eggs, but

Rabanita might be genetically contaminated and that could explain why her eggs are pastel-coloured.