How do I get dark orange egg yolks

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Anyone know how to get those dark egg yolks? Without free ranging?

 

[Kiwibird]

Feed greens containing carotene, such as grass.

 

[Rooster G]

And/or clover, alfalfa, spinach. I wonder about dandelion greens.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I am feeding ½ head of red cabbage to my ducks every evening for months now. The egg yolks became almost orange, their feet and bills are more bright orange and a lot of the green speckles on their bills have disappeared. I'm planning on growing red kale and cabbage next year. Dandelion greens and flowers are also very rich in carotenoids, so are pumpkins. See Carotenoids on Wikipedia.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Agree with the above statements. Marigolds are also supposed to help with yolk color.

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Awesome thank you everyone!

 

[Acre4Me]

As above, peppers, squash/pumpkins, kale, alfalfa, marigolds are popular. Check your feed bag-some contain marigold. Don’t over feed treats though, they need their intake of treats to be no more than 10% of diet. As for alfalfa, I get a bag of alfalfa pellets to hydrate and mix into their feed when I make a wet mash. I do this more often in the winter. Alfalfa is 16% min protein, so I’m not diluting their protein intake.

my girls aren’t too keen on peppers. They do love squash and cabbage though.

 

[Acre4Me]

Something to look into if you want to know how dark your yolks get!

 

[ColtHandorf]

Does the yolk comparison go off the raw yolk, or a cooked one?

 

[RoosterML]

I 2nd poultry feed with marigold in it. It is fairy easy to come by and does the job you are looking to do.