The Feed and Yolk Experiment: Chicken feed and dark orange yolk color

[aart]

I don't understand the desire being the "dark yolk." As long as my chooks are healthy and well fed, I'm happy with what they give me. I've got one hen that gives me a rich yellow egg and some that give me a sunflower yellow, and one that gives me a pale chiffon yellow yolk. I got a deep orangey red yolk like OP was saying she was after, and after looking at it, it was veining. I had a hen that was a little broody but didn't stick to it.

The thread started out as documentation of an experiment mostly out of curiosity, I think. Tho there may be some truth to higher nutrition, it's mostly just a 'things that look like this(like celebrities) are better' thing.

 

[SoCalClucker]

I wasn't our primary goal, but our run is built with a sand floor and we wanted to give them some variety, so we turned about half of it into a "sand box" except it has alfalfa hay in it. It was an unexpected side effect that the girls' yolks seemed to get very dark once the chickens were picking through the alfalfa for most of the day. They were already darker than store bought from their diet, but the alfalfa definitely made a huge difference. I couldn't bake vanilla cakes with the eggs anymore, as the yolks were so dark that the cakes would turn out looking more like yellow vs. vanilla/white! So, maybe alfalfa is another way that egg yolk color can be affected?

 

[tomphot]

So, maybe alfalfa is another way that egg yolk color can be affected?

Yes, Alfalfa is also known to darken yolks.

 

[naf_appaz]

interesting...I have had chickens on and off all my life and never had pale yolk eggs, other than store bought?

 

[centrarchid]

Curious, what kind of fish are you raising, and how are you feeding the dry pepper to them?

Sunfishes mostly and sometimes giant freshwater prawn. Will be doing rainbow trout soon. I mix powder in with dry feed that is wetted then run through a meat grinder to make pellets. Have some similar when adding biochar to chicken feed. When pelleted, less issue with dust and waste.

 

[centrarchid]

Another aspect with this is not all the forms of A-vitamins are similar in terms of how they impact color. Some are have importance as vitamins but impact color very little.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

interesting...I have had chickens on and off all my life and never had pale yolk eggs, other than store bought?

Like I said before, pale egg yokes are mostly a response to house wives' disgust at the free range eating habits of hens. That and what one poster said about certain baked goods coming out of the oven with either an objectionable color or flavor.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

I love this stuff! I can't wait to get my chicks grown and laying to try a few of my own experiments. Kudos to all of you on testing and sharing your experiences.

On appearance of eggs:
I did some research on local egg producers and sales before deciding what breeds of hens to get, since I figured I'd be selling my own excess eggs at some point. I hung out at the farmers markets and local feed/produce stores, made some friends, asked questions, watched and learned. Around my neck of the woods, the multicolored dozens of eggs always sell on sight to the local young professionals and the hipsters. The deeply colored yolks keep them coming back to a particular source, as they equate those deeply colored yolks with wholesomeness and "richer tasting". The older ladies who bake and cook generally want the freshest and tastiest eggs, regardless of the color of shell or yolk. No matter the age group, it seemed that people who knew nothing of chickens or eggs thought the colored eggs (including brown, green, blue, etc) were all "organic" and "healthier" than white eggs, though a very few thought they had been dyed. Even my HE thinks brown eggs taste better than white ones, an idea I sometimes think I've disabused him of only to have it reappear. Folks in your area might be different. If you aren't selling your eggs, just do what makes you happy.

On nutritional content of eggs:
I do believe feeding a nutritious diet to your hens gives you the healthiest eggs. I've seen studies that show increased omega-3 in eggs from hens fed with feed fortified with increased omega-3. No mention that I recall in that study of yolk color, though I do believe palatabilty was stated to be either unchanged or of negligible change.

Beta-carotine is an antioxidant, a precursor to vitamin A, and lacking in diets low in vegetables. Most Americans don't eat adequate amounts of vegetables high in beta-carotene or vitamin A. Having a bit extra in my eggs couldn't hurt, as the amounts one would have to consume to become toxic are unreasonable.

On flavor of eggs:
The only time in the past that I remember our eggs tasting funky was after killing a skunk right next to the henhouse. The skunk stench made the eggs smell and taste awful for a couple of weeks, if I recall correctly. Didn't do much for the smell of the henhouse either. We did try washing it, but . . . skunk. My mother says the eggs from her father's turkey farm tasted bad when the turkeys ate stink bugs that were a plague one year. I read somewhere, many years after hearing this family story over and over from my cradle, that barnyard fowl wouldn't eat stink bugs. I don't know. My hens years ago ate all our garden and plant-based kitchen scraps (meat and dairy went to pigs), including onions, hot peppers, and garlic. I never noticed any effect on their eggs or flesh. So as far as changing the flavor of your eggs, I can only guess that a more "robustly eggy" flavor might be produced by well nourished hens as opposed to malnourished ones, or some breeds might produce a slightly different flavor, but I don't know what exactly you'd need to feed to get a major difference beyond that. I'm interested in learning if it can be done consistently, and how.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I love this stuff! I can't wait to get my chicks grown and laying to try a few of my own experiments. Kudos to all of you on testing and sharing your experiences.

On appearance of eggs:
I did some research on local egg producers and sales before deciding what breeds of hens to get, since I figured I'd be selling my own excess eggs at some point. I hung out at the farmers markets and local feed/produce stores, made some friends, asked questions, watched and learned. Around my neck of the woods, the multicolored dozens of eggs always sell on sight to the local young professionals and the hipsters. The deeply colored yolks keep them coming back to a particular source, as they equate those deeply colored yolks with wholesomeness and "richer tasting". The older ladies who bake and cook generally want the freshest and tastiest eggs, regardless of the color of shell or yolk. No matter the age group, it seemed that people who knew nothing of chickens or eggs thought the colored eggs (including brown, green, blue, etc) were all "organic" and "healthier" than white eggs, though a very few thought they had been dyed. Even my HE thinks brown eggs taste better than white ones, an idea I sometimes think I've disabused him of only to have it reappear. Folks in your area might be different. If you aren't selling your eggs, just do what makes you happy.

On nutritional content of eggs:
I do believe feeding a nutritious diet to your hens gives you the healthiest eggs. I've seen studies that show increased omega-3 in eggs from hens fed with feed fortified with increased omega-3. No mention that I recall in that study of yolk color, though I do believe palatabilty was stated to be either unchanged or of negligible change.

Beta-carotine is an antioxidant, a precursor to vitamin A, and lacking in diets low in vegetables. Most Americans don't eat adequate amounts of vegetables high in beta-carotene or vitamin A. Having a bit extra in my eggs couldn't hurt, as the amounts one would have to consume to become toxic are unreasonable.

On flavor of eggs:
The only time in the past that I remember our eggs tasting funky was after killing a skunk right next to the henhouse. The skunk stench made the eggs smell and taste awful for a couple of weeks, if I recall correctly. Didn't do much for the smell of the henhouse either. We did try washing it, but . . . skunk. My mother says the eggs from her father's turkey farm tasted bad when the turkeys ate stink bugs that were a plague one year. I read somewhere, many years after hearing this family story over and over from my cradle, that barnyard fowl wouldn't eat stink bugs. I don't know. My hens years ago ate all our garden and plant-based kitchen scraps (meat and dairy went to pigs), including onions, hot peppers, and garlic. I never noticed any effect on their eggs or flesh. So as far as changing the flavor of your eggs, I can only guess that a more "robustly eggy" flavor might be produced by well nourished hens as opposed to malnourished ones, or some breeds might produce a slightly different flavor, but I don't know what exactly you'd need to feed to get a major difference beyond that. I'm interested in learning if it can be done consistently, and how.

Nice response and interesting

 

[ShrekDawg]

Very interesting thread!

I don't think that Purina is the only feed that does this or that the other things should be discounted, though I realize that's probably not what you were saying.

We have mostly always fed Nutrena and had great results. We did try Purina Flock Raiser and Purina Layena Plus though. I fed the Flock Raiser all winter when they weren't really laying and the Layena around the same time when my parents accidentally got a bag. The girls have done great on all of them and I have never really noticed a difference. I first fed their NatureWise line layer pellets then switched to their Hearty Hen feed when I saw it at the feed store. It has higher protein (18%) which I heard was better if they get a lot of treats, which they were at the time. It's also soy free. Anyway, they have done great on that and I think it also has marigold extracts in it. Unfortunately the feed store now stopped carrying it so now I feed Poulin Grain Egg Production Plus. It's actually not really unfortunate because it is a great feed and as good or better. Not sure if it has marigold though but it's soy free and has the higher protein.

I have never really noticed much difference but I also, sadly, really don't eat many eggs lol we have had uo to 4 dozen in the fridge at once and we only have 8 hens...

It's odd because before we got them I loved eggs.

But I am trying to eat healthier and not eat fast food and only terrible foods so I'm starting to eat them more.

But my point is because I don't eat them much I haven't compared colors but I will ask my dad.

I don't think there has ever been a noticeable difference though.

I will say though that when they don't free range I notice a huge difference! The eggs are a yellow-y or lighter orange color. Still pretty dark but not as much.

When they free range, even for only a few hours a day, the eggs get really dark and delicious! So they free range now lol

Which brings me to my point, I think that whether free ranging will make a difference or not depends on the quality of the forage.

You said you are in Chicago, right? I have a feeling that in a small suburban lawn there might not be very much forage or many bugs that would change their eggs.

We are set back in the woods on almost 3 acres, about half of which is the yard and the rest the aforementioned woods, so it's mix of a the large yard and the woods as well as overgrown grass/weeds/underbrush areas, and gardens/bushes/shrubs to forage under and a compost pile so it's a very varied and rich environment which I feel probably impacts egg color more than all grass would. And we suck at mantaining our lawn and don't use chemicals so we have lots of clover and other weeds/greens mixed in which only some of my girls eat lol so I think that's why the free ranging changes our girls' egg color.

They don't explore the vast majority of the yard though. The back yard is smaller and they usually stay there and hang out at the edge of the woods or the compost pile or go next to the garage to the huge bushes in front.

But yeah.

If your yard is smaller there won't be as much to eat