Hi, got a question for you guys - I just added two 10 mo old birds to my small flock. They have been laying a couple of months. I noticed the first few eggs I got from them are a fine size with good hard shells, but the yolks are pale yellow - paler than the grocery store eggs. They didn't have quite the flavor of the darker yolked eggs either. The lady I got them from raised poultry for sale and these birds were not free ranged. I'm sure that's part of it. They were strictly on layer pellets. I have not let my birds out to free range yet as we have coyotes and dogs around and I'm thinking we may have to put up a chicken fence at some point if I'm going to let them out. Mine do have a large run, and I give them not only layer pellets, but veggies, fruits, weeds, grains like oats, and some table scraps. What makes the yolks dark yellow? Bugs? I'm hoping after I have these new hens that their eggs will get darker if I give them a more varied diet. Plus, I wanna make sure that my other 7 younger pullets lay dark yellow yolked eggs, too. What say you?
