Weird Yolk Color!

[aonis]

Can anyone please tell what is happening here. I went away for 5 days and most of the eggs that I came home to have yolks like this or yolks with a white circle in them. They were left in the coop for those 5 days and the weather was pretty hot. Is this the beginning of fertilization?? Is it safe to eat??

 

[Kedreeva]

The yolks don't typically change color by being fertilized, and if it was starting to grow you'd almost definitely see veins. This is a picture of a day 5 egg that was cracked: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4473937#p4473937

My bet is that if they were able to free range previously and were locked in the coop, their diet changed and this changed the color of the yolk. Did you leave them with yellow corn? Sometimes that can change the color of the egg yolk to more orange.

EDIT: The eggs with a 'white circle' in them- you can check this page to see if they are just fertile but not growing: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008 If the eggs were fertile and were only on like.... day 1 maybe, you might see an expanded white circle. I've never cracked a day 1 egg before though, so I'm not sure.

 

[CoopCrazy]

Honestly the one on the left is the color i like to see in my eggs.. I think backyard chickens should have a deep orange color..

As far as safe to eat.. I wont eat any eggs after two days in the coop.. And I dont see any bullseye so i would say they arent fertile...

 

[aonis]

thanks for the swift replies!

The egg on the right seems almost red/orange to me which is what made me curious. There haven't been any major diet changes but they do free range, eat feed, and get compost scraps. I suppose that can cause all sorts of variations in their yolk color.

*Coop Crazy* why not eat eggs after two days in coop? just out of curiosity.

*Kedreeva* thanks so much for the info.

 

[CoopCrazy]

Quote:
I have roos and very fertile eggs .. with the heat and humidity hear (plus the fact that all my hens are trying to go broody) I worry too much that they may have started to develop.. I typically scramble and feed back any eggs after two days.. Now int he cooler months I have eaten eggs that were out there a week, no problem.. Just still a lil worried Ill crack open and egg and find a heart beating inside

 

[Imp]

Can they get into cottonseed (cattle feed)? I've read that can cause a salmon color to yolks or red pepper causes orange/pink yolks.

Imp

 

[tracyrene]

When I was on Mexico the egg yolks were that color! I assumed it was from what they were feeding the chickens. They tasted normal!

 

[chickfan]

In the picture at the first of this thread....I still am not sure that the darker one on the left is OK to eat. I had one that color recently, and threw it away. I give eggs to a friend and she had the same thing the other day, and threw hers away also. They just don't look appetizing to me/us, but I'd like to know that they are really OK to eat.
Thanks!