Are Andalusians good for showing?

Yes, for keepers who enjoy color breeding. They're exhibited in the APA's **Mediterranean** class in the single recognized **Blue** variety, judged on even slate-blue color with clean lacing, a strong single comb, and white earlobes. Producing evenly-laced show blues takes numbers, since Blue x Blue also throws black and splash birds that can't be shown.

How hard are Andalusians to hatch?

No harder than any chicken — **99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch**, with no breed-specific incubation quirks. The real challenge is genetic, not incubational: expect to grow out many chicks to find a few show-quality blues, since only about 50% of a Blue x Blue mating come out blue.

Why don't Blue Andalusians breed true?

Because blue plumage is caused by a single incompletely-dominant gene on a black base. Blue x Blue gives roughly **25% black, 50% blue, and 25% splash**. To get nearly all blue chicks, breed **Black x Splash** instead — every chick then inherits exactly one blue dose.

Are Andalusians broody?

Rarely. Like most Mediterranean breeds they are active, high-strung foragers that seldom go broody, so plan on an incubator or a broody hen of another breed to hatch their eggs.

Are Andalusians a rare breed?

Yes. The Livestock Conservancy lists the Andalusian on its Conservation Priority List, so hatching eggs and started birds can be hard to find and are worth sourcing from breeders working to preserve good type and color.

Blue Andalusian: The Textbook Breed for Blue-Feather Genetics

Q: What color eggs do Andalusians lay?

**White** eggs — the Andalusian is a productive Mediterranean layer of roughly 160–200 medium-to-large white eggs a year and lays well in winter. The 'blue' in Blue Andalusian refers to the bird's feathers, not the eggs.

Verified September 2026White eggs

The short version

The Andalusian is a rare, active Mediterranean breed that lays white eggs and comes in a single APA-recognized variety, Blue, recognized in 1874. It is the classic teaching breed for blue-feather genetics: because blue plumage is a heterozygous (incompletely dominant) color, Blue x Blue never breeds true — a blue pen throws roughly 25% black, 50% blue, and 25% splash. Slate-blue laced feathers, white earlobes, and a large single comb are its signature. Hens are prolific white-egg layers but rarely broody.

APA class: Mediterranean

Egg color: White

Broodiness: Rarely broody

Varieties: 1

Egg-color genetics

Andalusians are a classic Mediterranean layer: like Leghorns and Minorcas they lay a chalk-white shell with no blue or brown pigment involved. Do not confuse the breed's blue feathers with blue eggs — the 'blue' in Blue Andalusian refers to plumage color, and the eggs are white regardless of the bird's feather shade.

Why Blue Andalusians never breed true

Blue feather color in chickens is produced by a single incompletely-dominant gene acting on a black base. A bird with one copy of that gene looks blue; a bird with no copies is black; a bird with two copies is splash (a pale white-grey bird flecked with blue-black). Because the true-breeding forms are the black and the splash — not the blue — mating two blue birds always shuffles the doses and yields all three colors at once, in a roughly 25% black : 50% blue : 25% splash ratio.

This is exactly why the Andalusian is used to teach the genetics: it is one of the oldest and most famous blue-feathered breeds, and it makes the incomplete-dominance pattern obvious in a single hatch. Breeders who understand the math can steer their pens deliberately — Black x Splash for maximum blue, Blue x Blue when they want to keep replacement blacks and splashes on hand.

What color eggs do Andalusians lay?

White. The Andalusian is a productive Mediterranean layer in the mold of the Leghorn, laying roughly 160–200 medium-to-large white eggs a year and continuing well through winter, when many breeds slow down. The blue in the breed's name is about feathers, not shells — there is no blue-egg or brown-egg gene involved, so the eggs are a clean chalk white.

Breeding notes

The Andalusian is the classic lesson in blue-feather genetics: blue is a single dose of the incompletely dominant Blue (Bl) gene over a black base, so it can never breed true. Mating Blue x Blue gives roughly 25% black (no blue gene), 50% blue (one dose), and 25% splash (two doses — white/grey with irregular blue-black flecks).
To skip the wasted 25%-black and 25%-splash and get a pen of nearly all Blue, breed Black x Splash: every chick inherits exactly one blue dose from the splash parent and a black base from the black parent, so close to 100% come out blue. This is the single most useful cross for anyone raising blue-feathered birds.
Use the off-colors as breeding tools, not culls-only: a well-laced black can be bred back in to restore crisp feather lacing and darken a washed-out blue, while a splash can be paired in to lighten a pen that has gone too dark or muddy. Keeping good blacks and splashes alongside your blues is standard practice, not a mistake.
Expect to hatch and grow out a lot of chicks to find a few show-worthy blues with even, uniform lacing — evenly-laced blue is genuinely hard to fix. This breed rewards keepers who have the space to raise numbers and the willingness to cull hard on feather quality.
Select for the Mediterranean type as well as color: a large, upright single comb, clean white oval earlobes, a long back, and active carriage. Avoid birds with red or brassy feather patches, uneven lacing, or earlobes stained with red.

Showing notes

The Andalusian is exhibited in the APA's Mediterranean class in its one recognized variety, Blue — enter as 'Blue Andalusian, large fowl' (a bantam version also exists).
Judges reward even, uniform slate-blue ground color with a distinct darker lacing on every feather, plus a strong single comb (upright in males, folding to one side in females) and clean, well-shaped white earlobes. Blotchy or uneven blue is the most common fault.
Only Blue is recognized for the show table — the black and splash birds that come out of a blue mating cannot be exhibited as Andalusians even though they are essential to the breeding program.
Keep white earlobes free of red staining and protect plumage from sun-fading and weathering, which can wash out the blue and blur the lacing before a show.

Hatching & incubation

No breed-specific incubation requirements — treat Andalusian eggs like any standard chicken egg: 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.
As an active Mediterranean breed, chicks are flighty and fast to feather; plan for secure, covered brooders since they jump and roost early.

Recognized varieties

Blue

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Andalusians lay?: White eggs — the Andalusian is a productive Mediterranean layer of roughly 160–200 medium-to-large white eggs a year and lays well in winter. The 'blue' in Blue Andalusian refers to the bird's feathers, not the eggs.
Are Andalusians good for showing?: Yes, for keepers who enjoy color breeding. They're exhibited in the APA's Mediterranean class in the single recognized Blue variety, judged on even slate-blue color with clean lacing, a strong single comb, and white earlobes. Producing evenly-laced show blues takes numbers, since Blue x Blue also throws black and splash birds that can't be shown.
How hard are Andalusians to hatch?: No harder than any chicken — 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch, with no breed-specific incubation quirks. The real challenge is genetic, not incubational: expect to grow out many chicks to find a few show-quality blues, since only about 50% of a Blue x Blue mating come out blue.
Why don't Blue Andalusians breed true?: Because blue plumage is caused by a single incompletely-dominant gene on a black base. Blue x Blue gives roughly 25% black, 50% blue, and 25% splash. To get nearly all blue chicks, breed Black x Splash instead — every chick then inherits exactly one blue dose.
Are Andalusians broody?: Rarely. Like most Mediterranean breeds they are active, high-strung foragers that seldom go broody, so plan on an incubator or a broody hen of another breed to hatch their eggs.
Are Andalusians a rare breed?: Yes. The Livestock Conservancy lists the Andalusian on its Conservation Priority List, so hatching eggs and started birds can be hard to find and are worth sourcing from breeders working to preserve good type and color.

Sources

Andalusian Chicken (breed history, egg production & conservation) — The Livestock Conservancy (Reference)
Breed Spotlight: Andalusian (blue-feather genetics & breeding) — Murray McMurray Hatchery (Hatchery)
Blue Andalusians (breed overview & varieties) — Murray McMurray Hatchery (Hatchery)

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