Orange Yolk Eggs

[scratch'n'peck]

Yes, greens. free ranging chickens who eat grass and weeds have darker yolks, but if you can't let them free range a lot the supplement their feed with greens.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You can also grow wheat grass for them and put that in there, along with all the other suggestions for green feed.

 

[peterlund]

Throw a whole head of cabbage in there from time to time... They will pack away at it ....I also agree with all the above answers.

 

[Chris09]

Carotenoid (Beta carotene), and Xanthophyll—both are natural plant pigments. When hens are able to eat green plant material or yellow corn the beta carotene concentrates in the yolk making it dark, sometimes even orange.

Food sources of beta-carotene/ Xanthophyll include sweet potatoes, carrots, green lettuce, kale, spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, winter squash, collard greens, broccoli, peas, red and yellow peppers, corn, cilantro, fresh thyme apples, oranges, peaches, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, orange juice, and tomato juice.

Chris

 

[cushyinpa]

I can't believe "orange is good"... I came on here to ask if it was okay that the yolks are dark orange. Looks weird scrambled...dark bright yellow eggs. Sometimes there are a few little solid dark pieces of orange in the yolks....is that okay? We have free range brown chickens. I don't know what kind. We had four but thanks to two hawks we're down to two left. We just got little peeps about two weeks ago. Eight yellow ones so I guess white chickens this time. Can you tell I'm a novice

I just wanted lighter colored yolks for company and baking. Do you think if these are free range like the brown chickens, their yolks will be orange too? Yikes! I think we're keep these penned anyway because of the occasional hawk. Thanks for reading. I feel better reading your post.

 

[Sleepy71]

Our neighbor, who buys our eggs, can tell a difference in the yolks when we let them free range. They actually spend a lot of time under his citrus trees pecking at whatever has fallen on the ground. That could make for a new marketing catch phrase: "Vitamin C-charged Fresh Eggs" LOL

 

[devora]

I can't believe "orange is good"... I came on here to ask if it was okay that the yolks are dark orange.

Yeah, many folks here covet the orange egg b/c it's signs of a healthy diet in a bird. It means she's out eating lots o' greeeeeeens!

 

[dolly85]

Like the others said, lots of greens equal orange yolks! I like to rake up the grass after mowing and dump it in the coop for them to scratch in and eat.