do dark yellow or orange yolks mean they are healthier.

[Scotty from BI]

People are adding different spices and ingredients to the chicken feed to change the taste of the eggs or wondering if these various ingredients will change the taste. But there is another side that does not seem to be considered. If adding spices will have a positive or at least a noticable effect, why doesn't things not so palatable to people that chickens seem to love like bugs, rodents, dirt and other various yucky things make the eggs taste awful. I personally love my morning eggs, and I know that my hens are not exactly connoisseurs or even fussy about what they eat. So, I think in the end, I would just feed them the basics, including healthy bugs like the freeze dried grubs and healthy veggies that I throw out daily with their layer pellets and enjoy what I have been.

One other thing, as I write this comes to mind. I am an old geezer and have been eating eggs for decades, many decades and probably countless thousands of eggs. In my early lifetime there was very little fuss about what chickens ate or how well they lived. I grew up a city boy and ate piles of eggs every day in the military in the mess hall. I am so far as I can tell very healthy and have never had any medical issues beyond the minor occasional seasonal cold or flu. It's only been in the last 8 to 10 years that chickens and their eggs have become fashionable and the organic movement extended to them because they are in our food chain.

Just saying maybe we are overthinking this whole thing a bit.

 

[RoosterML]

It's only been in the last 8 to 10 years that chickens and their eggs have become fashionable and the organic movement extended to them because they are in our food chain.

I agree with you, with so many different selections of feed now days I believe is due to the feed now being marketed direct to consumer and not just the farmers. One feed supplier has to make there product stand out over the other. Different ingredients do not mean the product is good or bad but it may allow the manufacturer to say look folks you have deep rich yolks if you use this, etc.

 

[PouleChick]

Great questions brought up on this thread especially after I opened 3 eggs yesterday, all collected the same day, from my hens who are all fed the same pellet feed to say I was shocked by the colour difference is putting it mildly! I have 2 theories - that the colour differences are down to differences in free ranging abilities / time (some hens let themselves out into the garden!) or possibly breed?

What do you guys think?

 

[Perris]

I hope someone can explain; I shall be waiting with interest

 

[RoosterML]

Great questions brought up on this thread especially after I opened 3 eggs yesterday, all collected the same day, from my hens who are all fed the same pellet feed to say I was shocked by the colour difference is putting it mildly! I have 2 theories - that the colour differences are down to differences in free ranging abilities / time (some hens let themselves out into the garden!) or possibly breed?

What do you guys think?

It's all based on the diet. While they all eat the same pellet it doesn't mean they are all eating they same amount of it. Looks like some are enjoying the garden more than others.
That would be my inexperienced explanation.

 

[Kayla's Lunch]

I am new to chickens. I got my chickens in June, so this is my first flock. They usually are loose in my backyard about 2-4 hours most days. I have found differences in the yolk colors. I think it must be that they don't all eat the same things when outside foraging.

 

[Scotty from BI]

Here is a laboratory analysis of eggs produced by free range chickens and caged chickens. The conclusion was that there was no significant advantage to free range chicken eggs.

[https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/.../e3001d6a0e78b9e55c6f...]

 

[DrumstickRanchTex]

Scotty, you are awesome!

 

[Scotty from BI]

Scotty, you are awesome!

thanks, appreciate your saying so. I like driving interesting conversations like this one.

 

[Perris]

My reading of the paper's conclusions is rather different.
"The laboratory had a significant effect on the levels of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and β-carotene (Table 5)...the cause for the laboratory differences may be associated with differences in the methodologies used. Because total fatty acids varied among the laboratories, it was somewhat obvious that the percentages of saturated and monounsaturated fats would also vary among laboratories in a similar fashion, with highs of 2.84 and 4.16, and lows of 2.17 and 3.10, respectively."
Also, note "Although range production did not influence the cholesterol level in the egg, there was an increase in fat levels in eggs produced on the range."
As for the range, it was quite limited: "The rearing dietary program was the same for both the range and cage pullets, with the only difference being access to the range paddock. A general description of the range paddock would be a typical hay mixture for North Carolina consisting of both warm- and cool-season forages. These paddocks were an established bermudagrass and fescue mix and clover." Backyard chickens usually have access to a wider range of plants and the insects they attract.