Red Yolks

[nkeller]

I have 4 hens that adopted me in the last year. They all just showed up one after another.

Anyway, The seem happy and healthy, they all layed an egg a day sometimes everyother. We got about 24-26 eggs a week. Until the last 3-4 weeks ago, Slowly the Americanna stopped laying altogether and the others yolks keep getting darker and darker.

The lady at the feed store told me to but vinager in their water, Which I just read could cause zinc poisoning. I had to change to plastic bowls because the galvanized rusted right out. I just used like a 1/4 cup to a gallon of apple cidar- water.

The girls daily diet consists of 4 cups crumble 4 cups pellet and about 2.5 cups scratch. They also get all kinds of kitchen scraps minus chicken.

They free range 3-4 days aweek on 1.75 acres and do like to eat the wild coffee beans that grow in Florida.

They have not had any shrimp or red peppers lately. Or sweet potatoes

Id includ a pic of the yolks if I could figure out how and the ladies too.

These yolks are soo orange they are RED. Scramble eggs are a bit scary looking.

They also so seem to have a denser thicker texture, Not easy to mix.

It is not Blood it is the reddest thickest yoke.

 

[Imp]

Welcome to BYC

Could they have gotten into cottonseed or cottonseed oil or cattle feed? That can cause redder thicker yolks.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/329/factors-affecting-egg-quality

Good luck

Imp

 

[nkeller]

No, they are pretty spoiled and cared for.

 

[marymac]

Myself I have noticed the darker and thicker a yolk is the tastier the eggs are. I love the thick dark orangy yolks, but mine have never been red.

 

[nkeller]

Its just that everyday they seem darker. And the Americana has stopped laying altogether. The feed store and vet have not been a lot of help either. They called my eggs scray looking. And I promise everything thet eat is what I stated above. Other than the pellets and crumble they eat what I eat.

 

[Imp]

Here's some more information:

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/32/mottled-yolks-and-discoloured-yolks

Imp

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_yolk
At the bottom they have a pic of a red yolk but I couldn't find the explanation on this page.

I googled this for awhile and all the sources say red peppers, paprika, and pimientos.

Hmm. It's a mystery!

 

[nkeller]

That is exactly what they look like .
Lots of white and a big thick yoke.
Would be great if not for the color.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Do you know, my hubby would find that so disturbing he would make me stop free ranging them temporarily. Are you going to try strict control of the diet do you think?

 

[Minniechickmama]

It is most likely from free range foraging. I would not be alarmed since this may be nothing more than the fact they this time of year you have more plants that have gone to seed and they are eating those. As long as they are not eating poisonous plants/seeds, I wouldn't think anything of it. It is kind of cool if you think about it, how what your birds eat effects the color of their yolks. It is all how you look at it.
I visited the Purina Test farm for poultry years ago and they showed us eggs that had red, yellow or green yolks depending on what they fed the birds. So obviously, Mother Nature has manipulated the yolk coloring through their food supply. I would consider myself lucky to know they are doing so well as foragers.