How important is yellow skin for your county fair?

[19sarah90]

Subject says it all, I guess. My cornish crosses will be just over eight weeks old for our county fair in four weeks and their skin is just as pink as it could be. I was told, or rather had heard, that many judges want yellow skin, but that it isn't that big of a factor. I cannot for the life of me find the type of feed with the yellow pigment in it, and was wondering just how important it is and if there are other options for causing it other than the "special" food. I will be mixing their feed with corn for the last couple of weeks, but I doubt that will cause their skin to be yellower. Comments?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Who is judging?

 

[19sarah90]

No clue. Whomever the county fair hires this year.

 

[dirtyshoes]

marigolds— perdue used marigolds, but I dont think it matters

 

[19sarah90]

Yeah... I read all about marigolds in several other posts... this kind and not that kind... extract not the flowers themselves... etc. Seems like too much to me.

 

[OSUman]

i would think that the corn would do it because it turns the fat yellow so i would think it would do the same for the skin but im not sure

 

[jaku]

First of all, I have no idea about fairs or judging, so this is just speculation. I don't think any of them have "yellow" skin unless processed. I've never noticed any of my live birds skin to be yellow- with blood running through them, I think pink is normal for skin color, so you should be ok.

 

[skywatcher]

The skin of a pullet contains a considerable amout of yellow pigment,obtained from eating green feeds& corn.A hen uses this pigment to color the yolk of her eggs after a long period of laying the body parts become bleached out. After the hen stops laying the body parts pigment returns faster than the bleach out process. I think your chickens just need to be a little older to get the yellow pigment.

 

[ghulst]

I have judged many fairs and never saw cornish X that didn't have yellow skin.

 

[19sarah90]

I had also heard that their "conformation" doesn't develop until a little later as well. My birds will be eight weeks old at the fair, and I know many other people's birds will be five or six weeks old. Maybe mine will be more "mature" and stand a better chance... that is, if they're not too big.