Egg question..

[happyhens85]

Hey everyone I'm new to the forum but have read lots of great info and glad to finally be apart of the group! But anyways I have 12 chickens and they have a 25x55 foot run too many predators to have the full backyard :/ .. I've been feeding them about 1/2 of kale along with organic chicken feed , dried mealworms(soon to be live after my mealworm farm takes off) mixed with black oil sunflower seeds, split peas, hard red spring wheat berries, organic soft white winter berries , organic sesame seeds , and organic rolled oats everyday to try and get orange yolks and no matter what I feed them the yolks stay pretty consistently more on the yellow side and it's driving me nuts! Can anybody shed some light on this to get a more deeper orange yolk? Thank you in adavance!

 

[SIMZ]

Welcome! Your profile picture of the eggs is beautiful!

Corn will do it pretty quickly. It doesn't take much, either. I'm guessing from what you're feeding that you're trying to stay away from corn, though. Some feed has marigold extract for orange yolks. I wonder if you could get a hold of that to add to their feed?

A few summers ago I noticed my chickens yolks went from deep orange to a very pale yellow. It was perplexing because I knew they were on all that grass and running around. I was also feeding them greens from my garden and scraps, too. I've always wondered if they were getting into something that was making the yolks pale, or if it was just a lack of corn because I wasn't giving them scratch anymore since it was summer. As soon as I started giving them a little scratch the yolks turned orange again, so I don't know if just added greens will do it. I've always wondered about that and am curious as to what others say!

Besides the appearance, it sounds like your chickens are well fed and well taken care of. You can know that your eggs are very nutritious regardless of that yolk color.

 

[SIMZ]

I found this link, too!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...iment-chicken-feed-and-dark-orange-yolk-color

 

[happyhens85]

Thank you so much! I absolutely love my flock! I want to get more! But the wife says I have to wait to get more chickens until my son is born which will be any day now lol! I'm not opposed to cracked corn as long as its organic I just never give them cracked corn because I've read there's not much nutrition in it for them :/ .. the yolks aren't much of a pale yellow but I want that deep orange yolk! I usually give them a bag of grass clippings from a fresh pass down the lawn but it's winter here now in Nj and no mowing happening anytime soon. I've spent lots of money on greens for them with no luck on changing the color.. very disappointing , the eggs are fantastic more or less just looking for the color now . The response was much appreciated!

 

[SIMZ]

You're welcome! I hope you find something that works for you!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m not going to get into the organic argument, we all go out own way. Good luck on finding organic corn though, that can be tough. But corn is very nutritious if you investigate the nutrients it has. It’s not real high in protein, which a lot of people fixate on, but check it out. It’s not as horrible as some people lead you to believe. Just don’t make it the main ingredient you are feeding them.

Yolk color has nothing to do with the nutrition of the egg, but I do like a darker yolk myself. Things like smell and appearance have a big effect on taste, not just the taste buds. That’s part of why so many people get shocked at blind taste test results.

Mine forage for some of the food and in season they get various things from my garden. Yolk color goes from yellow to orange to yellow again. It depends on what they eat.

 

[chixmaidservice]

Two thoughts for you- most grocery store produce managers will agree to save you lettuce trimmings and expired greens if you explain that they are for livestock and you will be flexible and diligent to their schedule for pickup. Also the only near organic/ gmo free corn you are gonna find in the USA may be w/in an Amish community. Not sure if NJ has one, but figure it does, based on how close Lancaster Co. PA. would be.

 

[lazy gardener]

You're working hard at providing an "optimal chicken experience" for your birds. Nice sized run. I don't have much to add regarding the diet they are getting other than this: there are some mineral additives that you can get to boost the balance of their feed. You might consider sprouting some of those grains for now, until you can give them the fresh grass again. Is your run bare soil yet? If so, you might want to turn that run into a deep litter. That will go a long ways toward building their gut flora to help them to better digest the feed they are eating. A composting litter will have lots of beneficial bacteria and fungi, which will benefit the birds digestion, as well as supporting beneficial insects for the bird's amusement and dining pleasure. Birds on compost actually eat less feed b/c the compost provides a lot of nutrition. An other thing you might look at is fermenting those grains. That also helps by infusing the grains with probiotics, and breaking down the antinutrients in them. Birds on FF have longer villi in their intestines than birds not on FF. This allows them to extract more nutrient from their meals.