Foods that increase egg color?

[chickeneyfoot]

HI, I have some breeds Rocks, rirs, rsl, bsl, and new hamps. I always get a lighter brown egg i never got a BROWN egg. I thought it was just one breed but they all give a super light BROWN egg. At the store I can buy browner eggs.... Is there any foods i can give them to increse color? They are on purina layena & flock raise/.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Basic egg shell color is not that affected by diet, it's affected by genetics. The simple answer for you if you want dark brown eggs is to get Welsummers or Marans, breeds that normally lay dark brown eggs.

Right after a molt, the hen will lay as dark a brown egg as her genetics will allow. For some brown egg layers that is not very dark brown. During the molt the hen stores pigment in her skin. That's why a yellow skinned hen will lose skin color if she is laying regularly. The longer she lays without a molt, the lighter her eggs get because that pigment gets used. I imagine there are some foods that will slow that change in color, but her genetics limit how dark that brown will be to start with. I can tell a big difference in my eggs from just before to just after a molt.

 

[rendezvous1838]

good question
thanks Ridgerunner, interesting.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Penedescencas also lay a dark egg. RIdgeruner, you did a great job of explaining it!

Foods DO affect the content of the egg: yolk colour, taste and nutritional content. Dark green and orange foods tend to give darker, more orangey yolks. Better nutrition for the hen = better nutrition in the egg.