corn is like candy for chickens. they LOVE it, but it's not very healthy for them. and too much can make them fat (eventually) and fat hens arnt good layers. i usually just give out about 4 - 5 good handfuls of scratch (a corn/wheat mixture) a day in the cold months.....but during the hot months i just throw out BOSS (black oil sunflower seed) cuz corn raises the body temperature and i figure that's not good in the summer. anyway, i also give my girls other snacks (kitchen scraps like fruits and veggies, cheese and bread given sparingly, plain yogurt mixed with peanut butter - good source of protein and calcium) and they also free range and find lots of bugs, eat grass etc. the age of the chicken doesnt have anything to do with the yolk color (at least to my knowledge). my girls first egg had a VERY orange yolk. my other girls have orange yolks too, but this girl has an even oranger yolk than the others....maybe she's a better forager. if your girls can't free range, try to give kitchen scraps and grass clippings for them. but i would certainly cut back on the corn. they don't need it. oh, and the BOSS helps their egg laying too cuz of the oils.
