We have six red sex link hens that are just a bit over 18 months old. We built them a pretty large elevated coop with a very safe enclosed run. The run is about 12 X 20 and because we have bears, bobcat, racoons, etc. we had never let them out except for about 30-45 minutes and as long as we were right there watching. They are all great egg layers and the eggs are eggceptional. For the last several months we have not had the time or patience to let them out and I really had not seen a difference in their eggs either in taste or in yolk color. We feed them quite well with lots of greens put in their run along with fruits and vegetables to compliment their feed. Recently I was watching a food program on TV where a restaurant in France had their own chickens and it showed their eggs and they had a wonderful bright yellow-orange color and it made me jealous. I decided to get some temporary poultry fencing and I fenced in a large portion of yard and scrub area that, in total, encompased an area of about 15000 square feet. My intent was to begin to let them out every afternoon for about 3 hours where they could free roam, eat lots of grass and bugs and to check every day and compare the color of the yolks. So far they having been going out for 7 days and so far the color of their yolks has gotten noticeably yellower. I will keep this up and see if there are any other changes.
