Chicken Science

[JeNay]

My daughter is entering her science fair and has decided to use our hens and their eggs as her test subjects. She wants to see if what she feeds them will affect the color of the yolks. The science fair is next month, so I was wondering how long it would take before we saw any changes in the yolk color? We started feeding them the different things she wanted to try yesterday, now I’m just curious how long it will be before we should expect any changes (if any at all)? Did we start early enough? Thanks for your input!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

There is lot's of info about things that effect yolk color...

Cottonseed oil will turn them green. Marigold flowers will make them dark orange. White corn will make them more of a platinum or white color. Wheat based feed will make more pale yolks than yellow corn based.

I would think it would take a couple weeks to see the changes but really have no clue.

Sounds like a fun science fair project!

 

[AmazingRachel]

I think it's a week until it takes affect.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. I'm guessing a matter of weeks to note a difference in yolk color.

 

[lazy gardener]

I think it's fairly rapid. How is she doing this? is it a timed study, or does she have a control group? A before and after photo? What is her criteria? Is she using one diet change at a time? Do they get any free range during this time period?

 

[lazy gardener]

She might want to do a blindfolded taste test!

 

[JeNay]

Great idea with the blindfold taste test! She is only in second grade, so it’s not going to be super complicated (although it has potential to be a more in depth science project when she is in a higher grade!). They get their regular food and normal free range time (a couple of hours a day). One group gets nothing added, one gets lighter colored snacks (oatmeal, shelled sunflower seeds, bananas, etc) and one gets dark pigmented snacks (red peppers, beets, tomatoes). She will be using pictures to show before and after.

 

[lazy gardener]

Ah. Second grade does require that it be a simpler experiment. A "get your feet wet" type of experiment. How exciting for her!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

@Akrnaf2 Did some I think w/ tumeric .

 

[centrarchid]

I purposefully manipulate diet to effect egg yolk coloration. Changes can be seen within a couple days, but several days go by before maximum color change realized. Other things can impact how effective the additive works. Odds are she will see changes in the birds themselves if she looks close.

Think about using a color scale / wheel like used for paints at the paint store. And have more than one person assess each egg and make certain the assessors are not aware of each others findings.