Pale Yolks

[gltrap54]

Just bought some young RIR pullets that are laying very pale eggs.... I have them on medicated feed but they came off soy meal/corn with very little free range.... I've had them for a month now and their yolks remain pale... Does diet determine yolk color?

 

[Perris]

Does diet determine yolk color?

yes it does. Can you let them forage in pasture? If so, it will improve the colour a lot.

 

[neo71665]

yes it does. Can you let them forage in pasture? If so, it will improve the colour a lot.

that


Marigolds is a easy cheat to make the yolks a deep rich gold color. You can find the petals (also used for making tea) and mix it in with the feed. Over all pale yolks have no effect on anything but you might not like the look.

 

[gltrap54]

yes it does. Can you let them forage in pasture? If so, it will improve the colour a lot.

I let them out for an hour or so each day while I feed & clean up but it may take a bit to see a change as it's only been a few weeks.. My older hens lay beautiful eggs..

 

[gltrap54]

that


Marigolds is a easy cheat to make the yolks a deep rich gold color. You can find the petals (also used for making tea) and mix it in with the feed. Over all pale yolks have no effect on anything but you might not like the look.

Thanks for that! I had never heard of using Marigolds... I'll try it!

 

[Aapomp831]

Dark golden egg yolks get their color from chlorophyll…. Since chlorophyll is so abundant in nature, free ranged hens have the darkest yolk colors. The more time they can spend foraging, the darker yellow their yolks will get.

 

[Katanahamon]

Dark golden egg yolks get their color from chlorophyll…. Since chlorophyll is so abundant in nature, free ranged hens have the darkest yolk colors. The more time they can spend foraging, the darker yellow their yolks will get.

Well, technically it’s all sorts of compounds that give color, like carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin, many others. You can use calendula blossoms which are edible, carrots, dark pumpkin, there’s even a chef in San Antonio that feeds his chickens tons of chili peppers and red peppers to make reddish yolks..you can buy bags of organic paprika and enrich their food with that. Even turmeric..and dark, leafy greens..here’s an interesting article..

https://www.veterinariadigital.com/en/articulos/the-egg-yolk-color-and-pigments/

 

[Katanahamon]

yes it does. Can you let them forage in pasture? If so, it will improve the colour a lot.

Here’s an interesting article that shows how different compounds affect yolk color..
here’s another..I haven’t analyzed yet, wanted to edit quickly..
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7961203/

https://www.veterinariadigital.com/en/articulos/the-egg-yolk-color-and-pigments/

 

[Katanahamon]

that


Marigolds is a easy cheat to make the yolks a deep rich gold color. You can find the petals (also used for making tea) and mix it in with the feed. Over all pale yolks have no effect on anything but you might not like the look.

It’s confusing..calendulas are the edible flowers, I’ll have to look up if all marigolds are calendulas or vice versa..I just got a bag of organic calendula blossoms for the chickens, ppl use it to make a tea. I also tried misting some black soldier fly larvae and mixing them with organic, dark red sweet paprika. They looked at it for a second cause it’s different from what they are used to but soon were gobbling them down..I’ve read that to get anything darker than medium yellow, you have to use red pigmented things..like paprika, astaxanthin etc

 

[Aquira]

Are you eating the eggs with them on medicated feed?
Giving them a varied diet will certainly help having more vibrant yolks.