(Radio Iowa) – One northeast Iowa farmer has a head start on coloring his Easter eggs. Mark Westbrock keeps between 180 to 200 chickens on his Solstice Farm in Waverly. They provide eggs that range in color from the standard shades of brown and white to spots, and even more unexpected hues. “Blue eggs, green eggs, 364 days out of the year, they’re the most beautiful eggs out there, but they don’t dye very well,” he says, “You can’t really dye them, because they’re already colored.”

Westbrock says the color comes from having unique birds.”It’s just different breeds of chicken that people have developed over the years. There are some breeds of green egg layers that have been around for a while, and then kind of more recently people have developed breeds that can lay these bright brilliant blue eggs,” he explains.

Westbrock adds that organic and sustainable farming practices also help in bringing out an egg’s richer colors. His farm has been around for a little more than five years.