Wilcox Farm egg yolks - how do they do it?

[Perris]

That is backwards (typo maybe?). Calendula wont work as well at all compared to marigolds. I know it as Aztec Marigold or African Marigold, is exactly the one that’s famous for deepening egg yolk color. It’s measured in ppm of xanthophylls.

• Calendula (Calendula officinalis) also contains carotenoids, but in lower concentration and with a slightly different profile (more flavoxanthin, less zeaxanthin). It gives a pretty yellow tone, not the rich orange of Tagetes. It can also be made into a pulse- suppose to have antibiotic properties.
• Aztec Marigold = strong orange pigment,
  Calendula = mild yellow enhancer.

good catch. I assumed, wrongly, that all Tagetes would be pretty similar, thus that Aztec was like French marigold, with which we're more familiar on this side of the pond. Calendula rather than Tagetes appears on feed bags here.

More on Aztec/African marigold here
https://www.feedipedia.org/node/90
(but a search for French marigold yields no results on Feedipedia).

 

[CabritaChicks]

good catch. I assumed, wrongly, that all Tagetes would be pretty similar, thus that Aztec was like French marigold, with which we're more familiar on this side of the pond. Calendula rather than Tagetes appears on feed bags here.

More on Aztec/African marigold here
https://www.feedipedia.org/node/90
(but a search for French marigold yields no results on Feedipedia).

yes exactly French marigolds - pretty to look at but not a decent contributor. (okay I make bad jokes... haha).

Calendula has antimicrobial/antibiotic properties. So it is likely used for that purpose as for coloring the eggs- it is not really worth it.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Made me look. These are from two of Kalmbach’s layers’ feeds. It’s not in the non-layer feeds that I checked:

I’ve grown calendula (pot marigold) as a general ground cover in tomato beds and pollinator attractant.

 

[mermaid_of_the_farm]

That’s the cheap and easy way to do it! Marigolds (Tagetes) are the classic save-your-own-seed flowers, as I learned as a little kid from my grandmother. They have the advantage of big and distinctive seeds!

Good to know!

 

[mermaid_of_the_farm]

Tagetes is a completely different plant. It is not calendula. They both happen to have the same English name in part. Tagetes won't work as well as calendula.

fwiw, I've grown both, and my chooks have never been much interested in eating the petals of calendula. They prefer to get their carotenoids elsewhere (including grass).

I was getting confused during my search because just typing in "marigold" wasn't specific enough since calendula is also called marigold. Yesterday I learned Tagetes is what I want.

I have calendula already and like yours, so far, my chickens won't eat them. I wonder if I had a garden of fresh flowers growing and pretended I didn't want them in there if they would finally eat them lol I'll see how it goes with marigolds!