Diet to Get Darker Blue Eggs Query

[Chick-N-Fun]

 

[townchicks]

Hopefully, I'll have some results to report.

 

[BreanneRN]

We will be hoping too! Not too familiar with the actual natural diet of the Araucana and those wild birds that they are derived from, but maybe they need a little more protein and nutrition to maintain that egg color than the regular jungle fowl type that lays white or brown eggs...

 

[Taliasun]

I just read something very interesting that noted that in blue footed boobies, the blue pigment of their eggs increased with carotenoid supplements.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-010-1025-x
I know some ladies who might be getting some carrots soon!

 

[BreanneRN]

Lots of plants high in Vitamin A and Carotenoids. Carrots are kind of hard to feed to birds as they are hard and have to be grated or ground in some way to be fed. Purslane is very high in Omega 3's, liver has a lot of Vitamin D and A, because the body stores those particular vitamins there. I have been following a plant thread here by someone who had a weird hybrid plant come up in her yard and I think it is a Kavbuz, a hybrid of watermelon and pumpkin. I was thinking that would be fantastic animal feed! Carotenoids from the pumpkin, juiciness and a little extra sugar from the watermelon, the fruit is solid inside and is very nutritious. Apparently grown commercially in the Ukraine (an area that seems to do a lot of hybridizing of vegetables). I was thinking it would be good for the chickens, sheep, cows, horses and even people (it is said to be highly nutritious and healthful). You can buy seeds on ebay, so I think I am going to plant some of this stuff. It is apparently also incredibly easy to grow. https://www.amazon.com/Pumpkin-Kavbuz-Organically-Heirloom-Vegetable/dp/B00P8XO7IK

 

[Taliasun]

Dried carrots have super high levels of carotenoids. I imagine they'd be easy to grind and add to a regular diet. When I worked at a bird rescue they also just had different vitamin and mineral supplements for birds who were nutritionally deficient so you could go right to the supplement route.

 

[BreanneRN]

Here is another link that is descriptive of the plant and it's cultural needs... http://semenaopt.com/en/Pumpkin/Kavbuz/6434/

 

[BreanneRN]

Dried carrots have super high levels of carotenoids. I imagine they'd be easy to grind and add to a regular diet. When I worked at a bird rescue they also just had different vitamin and mineral supplements for birds who were nutritionally deficient so you could go right to the supplement route.

Well, carrots are cheap and you can grow your own, supplements are expensive and have to be mixed with the feed, but I would be using even a regular pumpkin before carrots, because they keep for a long time, are easy to grow, and are extremely high in carotenoids, and don't have to be processed in any way to be eaten by livestock, though I really think the animals are going to like the kavbuz better... since it has the texture of a watermelon inside but the carotenoids and nutrition of the pumpkin. Many here freeze watermelon to give to their flock in summer to help during hot weather, could do the same with this Kavbuz. I'll have to go check out that thread and see how that plant is doing. I think my last post over there was kind of a inadvertent spoiler and I havn't heard anything since...

 

[BreanneRN]

If you have an apricot tree, those are also very high in carotenoids...

 

[Taliasun]

@BreanneRN Does your flock eat raw pumpkin or do you steam it? My girls sometimes will leave squashes unless I steam it or cut it into fairly small pieces. They love frozen watermelon though. Thanks!