do dark yellow or orange yolks mean they are healthier.

[GreenMountainEric]

@GreenMountainEric quick question for you. At what point/time frame do you consider poultry feed to be past it's freshness period? Not liking the dates I've been seeing on the bags recently. Let me add and this is NOT in regards to your products.

That’s definitely not the easiest question to answer definitively...... the time from harvest is probably 20% of the answer, the days since manufacture is probably 30%, and the other 50% is entirely dependent on storage conditions.

For instance, a bag of feed that is manufactured in July, has whole grains that were ground/mixed/pelletized/etc. about 8-10 months after harvest, and will also be stored in a warehouse that is hot and humid in the middle of summer. I’d say you’d want to use that feed within a window of 50-60 days from manufacture at the MAX. Within 30-45 days would be preferred.

On the other hand, you could have a bag of feed that was manufactured in November, with fresh, recently harvested whole grains, and a nice cool and dry warehouse to sit in. That bag of feed could remain nice and fresh for 3-4 months, without any major effect on nutrient viability.

You could also have a whole grain feed, with unprocessed grains in it........ in that feed, the nutrients in the grains remain viable for a much longer period of time. However, the added vitamins, probiotics, minerals, etc., will lose their viability much faster than they would in a pelletized, or ground mash feed. Those nutrients will oxidize much faster in a whole grain feed.


So..... to answer your question, I can’t really answer your question!!

Our standard answer is 90 days, but there is a ton of factors that can change the actual nutrient viability in any one bag of feed.

 

[GreenMountainEric]

I just cracked open some nice dark orange yolks yesterday to make quiche. I fed 13 hens a 5 lb. bag of Chaffhaye over a week, so about .39 of a pound for each hen over that period & they were darker than I have seen in awhile. The darkest I have ever seen was one January when I stuck my Christmas tree in the run & they actually ate the needles. They were really dark orange. No one ever told ne they would eat the tree!

You should see the yolks on some of our specialized diets with paprika in them!! They are a 15-16 on the yolk fan.

Unfortunately, we don’t use those diets in the bagged products that you use

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

@Wee Farmer Sarah
I didn't intend for them to eat the tree, but they did! I didn't notice any taste problem. The tree was actually a douglas fir, so fir needles as opposed to pine, LOL.

I wonder how long it takes for the flavor to make it's way to the egg? Or does it?

 

[RoosterML]

I'm not sure about feeding them pine needles. Will it affect the taste of the eggs?

Simple answer nope it won't, i never noticed any difference.

 

[DrumstickRanchTex]

If you crack a store-bought egg into a skillet, the egg spreads out and flattens out quite a bit. The yolk stays round but becomes very very thin.
You can crack a yard egg into the skillet but the yolk will stay more spherical, almost as if it is somewhat “standing up” . The yard egg is a deeper richer color.
Of course there are organic eggs in the store as well, but i am saying store eggs to refer to the bargain eggs.

 

[RoosterML]

That’s definitely not the easiest question to answer definitively...... the time from harvest is probably 20% of the answer, the days since manufacture is probably 30%, and the other 50% is entirely dependent on storage conditions.

For instance, a bag of feed that is manufactured in July, has whole grains that were ground/mixed/pelletized/etc. about 8-10 months after harvest, and will also be stored in a warehouse that is hot and humid in the middle of summer. I’d say you’d want to use that feed within a window of 50-60 days from manufacture at the MAX. Within 30-45 days would be preferred.

On the other hand, you could have a bag of feed that was manufactured in November, with fresh, recently harvested whole grains, and a nice cool and dry warehouse to sit in. That bag of feed could remain nice and fresh for 3-4 months, without any major effect on nutrient viability.

You could also have a whole grain feed, with unprocessed grains in it........ in that feed, the nutrients in the grains remain viable for a much longer period of time. However, the added vitamins, probiotics, minerals, etc., will lose their viability much faster than they would in a pelletized, or ground mash feed. Those nutrients will oxidize much faster in a whole grain feed.


So..... to answer your question, I can’t really answer your question!!

Our standard answer is 90 days, but there is a ton of factors that can change the actual nutrient viability in any one bag of feed.

Fair enough, thank you.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

If you crack a store-bought egg into a skillet, the egg spreads out and flattens out quite a bit. The yolk stays round but becomes very very thin.
You can crack a yard egg into the skillet but the yolk will stay more spherical, almost as if it is somewhat “standing up” . The yard egg is a deeper richer color.
Of course there are organic eggs in the store as well, but i am saying store eggs to refer to the bargain eggs.

OK, I had to jump in on grocery store eggs. This is what convinced me to get my own chickens. Eggs from your average grocery store are old when they finally make it to the refrigerator case - packing, shipping and setting up in the store. Then you deal with what eggs sell quicker - that's usually the cheap, non-organic eggs. I had been purchasing the more expensive organic, free range eggs and good golly they were really old. Most likely because fewer people were buying these eggs. I love my home grown eggs: the whites are tender not rubbery, and the secret to a perfect poached egg is freshness. And you know if the expiration date on that carton of "Gucci" eggs is one to two weeks from the day you bought it, that can't be fresh.

 

[RoosterML]

I wonder how long it takes for the flavor to make it's way to the egg? Or does it?

I have never noticed a flavor change in the eggs, the only thing I ever noticed is, one time the night before we had a loft of ciabatta bread that had whole cloves of garlic in the bread. The next day I gave the chooks the remaining 1/2 loft. Bad idea the next morning as I walked into the coop I have never smelled a smell of poop like that. Needless to say they won't be getting that again. Even then there was no noticable change in egg taste.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Simple answer nope it won't, i never noticed any difference.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I have never noticed a flavor change in the eggs, the only thing I ever noticed is, one time the night before we had a loft of ciabatta bread that had whole cloves of garlic in the bread. The next day I gave the chooks the remaining 1/2 loft. Bad idea the next morning as I walked into the coop I have never smelled a smell of poop like that. Needless to say they won't be getting that again. Even then there was no noticable change in egg taste.

LOL! I didn't think chicken poo could smell any worse. Thanks for the warning.