In search of the elusive dark orange yolk

[pepparaaraa]

Capsicum in the form of many hot peppers are packed with minerals, vitamins and certain phyto-nutrients.
A rich source of vitamin C and B complex vitamins.
The richest source of vitamin A among spices.
Also contains iron, copper, zinc, potassium, manganese, magnesium and selenium. 


Capsicum is used in humans for various problems with digestion including upset stomach, intestinal gas, diarrhea and cramps. It is also used for conditions of the heart and blood vessels including poor circulation, excessive blood clotting, high cholesterol and preventing heart disease.

I'd call those nutritional benefits.

So if you are saying it's so much more nutritious we don't need to eat our veg anymore, just hot peppers!

Anyway with the green veg my hens egg yolks have become a nice colour so it must do enough but thanks for the info, not so much about the list of ailments as that's a different topic unless those are treatments for chickens ailments too?

 

[COChix]

...

Once you are into providing chickens a grain based formulation that is optimized for only growth / egg production, you are providing a diet that is lean with respect to nutrients that impart qualities on eggs we associate with free-range foraging.[\quote]

That is a pretty broad statement, not all feeds are created equal? Here is the feed we are currently feeding....We are happy with the feed and the ingredients, I also ferment the feed to help with the uptake of the grains. I also sprout and they get fresh greens on a regular basis. Our yolks have a good color, IMO. I wish ours could have access to regular pasture, but they don't so I try to do what I can for balance.

I think there's a big difference between giving them a green pepper and a dried powder.    There's a big benefit to enzymes in fresh vegetables.

I agree.

Sorry my formatting is screwed up

 

[centrarchid]

Broad indeed but generally accurate for the majority of backyard and even commercial producers. Exceptions will be parties trying to achieve the free-ranging looking eggs and levels of pigment they use (I assume now you are of this group) can be exceeded but not at competitive cost as anyone can do with the dried pepper powders. The use of greens that have low photosynthetic activity in life I think will not be as effective for your interest as young actively growing greens the birds can cherry-pick while foraging free-range..





The enzymes mentioned above may not be much to brag about if they are also present in the dried and pulverized powders. I am not aware of any studies demonstrating the importance of enzymes coming from food items (especially plants) that benefit poultry that consume those plant products.

 

[COChix]

Broad indeed but generally accurate for the majority of backyard and even commercial producers. Exceptions will be parties trying to achieve the free-ranging looking eggs and levels of pigment they use (I assume now you are of this group) can be exceeded but not at competitive cost as anyone can do with the dried pepper powders. The use of greens that have low photosynthetic activity in life I think will not be as effective for your interest as young actively growing greens the birds can cherry-pick while foraging free-range..

I wouldn't say I am shooting for free-range looking eggs, I was shooting for an organic non-gmo soy/corn free feed with a lot of beneficial additives. The fact that our eggs have a darker yolk, is a plus and hopefully a sign of good health? (But I am not an expert) Rather than trying to mix my own feed and buy the ingredients individually. The cost of our feed is .53 cents a pound.

 

[hayley3]

Now that we've discussed this..I read several articles where commercial producers use these methods to make their egg yolks look similar to free range. And since my chickens aren't laying, I'm having to eat commercially produced eggs. So I thought I had a good brand cause the egg yolks were more orange than some others but probably not much better.

Bottom line I love my chickens and I want them to be healthy and happy...living on bugs and grass and whatever else they can find but alas letting them free range is not to be anymore.

I like the sprout idea..I do have some clover I could sprout for them.

Enzymes are probably not in the powders unless they say raw. Enzymes are important to every living thing. That's why free range chickens are healthier unless they are fed greens and such.

 

[centrarchid]

We need to look up where enzymes come from that are important to animals. You will find very few come to us via the diet. Some do some from symbionts although most are produced by the animals themselves.

 

[MeepBeep]

Exceptions will be parties trying to achieve the free-ranging looking eggs and levels of pigment they use (I assume now you are of this group) can be exceeded but not at competitive cost as anyone can do with the dried pepper powders.

I feel that is open to debate, I can get a give or take 50-70lb bale of heavily alfalfa mixed hay for about $3-5 locally, that is a lot of protein and a lot of carotenoids for under $5...

 

[centrarchid]

I feel that is open to debate, I can get a give or take 50-70lb bale of heavily alfalfa mixed hay for about $3-5 locally, that is a lot of protein and a lot of carotenoids for under $5...

I am very familiar with the nutritional benefits of hays (alfalfa in particular) and have post over the years to prove it, Yes, alfalfa hay has proteins and carotenoids but you have two major problems when the diet is also dominated by grains, First is the birds will not eat large amounts, Second is the protein fraction in more difficult to digest. On top of the digestibility issue you have the amno acid profile making up that difficult to digest protein which makes such hay very limited as a protein source for birds with high protein demands (growing or in lay). It is descent for birds on a maintenance ration during the winter months. I value the hay more for its fiber content that serves as a partial replacement for coarse fibers that normally would be associated with large amounts of tender rapidly growing greens that are higher in available protein and vitamins associated with developing plant tissues.

 

[glib]

Just to set the discussion right,which enzymes are we talking about? digestive enzymes (ie, amylase, protease, and lipase)? Or enzymes such as vitamins, which are used internally by the animal?

 

[centrarchid]

I am not treating vitamins as enzymes, rather many are co-factors or otherwise required for the active sites in the animal produced enzymes. Those vitamins must be acquired from an exogenous / dietary source or be produced by symbiots of the animals (chickens) digestive tract.


Enzymes coming from the plant are just as likely to be anti-nutritional factors where they destroy some vitamins.

Greens certainly can be good sources of vitamins as can bacteria, fungi and animals forages the birds consume intentionally or incidentally. Greens are not good sources for all types of vitamins, sometimes animals forages are superior and in some instance bacteria are better yet.