older hen white yokes

[chickenothewild]

I have an older hen (Rita) who hasn't seemed 'on her game' for a few years now. She's nto that old - maybe only 5 or 6 years? She seems to have slowed down a bit. I've suspected she has vision problems for a year or so- she's not accurate when she pecks. if i hold out a treat, she tends to peck at it odd to one side. This morning I noticed that her egg yolks are very pale, to the extent that scrambled eggs are almost entirely white.

Nothing has changed in her diet, we have 8 hens who live in 'chicken heaven' and have more backyard, greenery and bugs than they can eat, supplemented by laying mix, and a heavy diet of table scraps. She certainly has access to everything she needs. Her eggs used to be bright yellow/orange, and so are the other hens.

She is the oldest hen we have, is it normal for yolks to get pale with age? Is it possible she is having has some kind of nutritional deficiency? Could she be having trouble eating what she needs? What else would cause pale to white yolks? I know she gets at least some laying mix, my husband hand feeds her most mornings.

 

[Peppercorngal]

I have an older hen (Rita) who hasn't seemed 'on her game' for a few years now. She's nto that old - maybe only 5 or 6 years? She seems to have slowed down a bit. I've suspected she has vision problems for a year or so- she's not accurate when she pecks. if i hold out a treat, she tends to peck at it odd to one side. This morning I noticed that her egg yolks are very pale, to the extent that scrambled eggs are almost entirely white.

Nothing has changed in her diet, we have 8 hens who live in 'chicken heaven' and have more backyard, greenery and bugs than they can eat, supplemented by laying mix, and a heavy diet of table scraps. She certainly has access to everything she needs. Her eggs used to be bright yellow/orange, and so are the other hens.

She is the oldest hen we have, is it normal for yolks to get pale with age? Is it possible she is having has some kind of nutritional deficiency? Could she be having trouble eating what she needs? What else would cause pale to white yolks? I know she gets at least some laying mix, my husband hand feeds her most mornings.

Yolk color is directly related to what the chicken eats. Eating certain plants while free ranging causes yolks to be orange. There is nothing wrong with pale yolks, they actually contain the same nutritional value, but we certainly aren't used to seeing that. Your hen is obviously not picking up the same treats while free ranging as she used to. Her vision problems are affecting her ability to find good things to eat now. Best luck for her continued health.