Yolks

[CHICKEN CRAZY1]

I have a flock of 24 hens and a cockerel. I get about 20 some odd eggs a day and they taste very good. However,the yolks are not orange like I like them. Also the yolks do not stand up very high, even when strait from the nest. I feed my chickens high quality layer feed and they have free accsess to water,grit and oyster shell. I do not give them a lot of corn. The yolk color and hieght does not matter, but the eggs may be more appealing to nieghbors when I give them away. Is there somthing you can feed chickens to get thier eggs fresher and yellower? If not am I doing somthing wrong?

 

[PrairieChickens]

Are they allowed to free range or confined to their pen? It's the variety of greens, bugs, and other goodies they find while free ranging that makes home-grown eggs so vividly colored and delicious. Some hens may never have exceptionally dark yolks--among our flock, we have some eggs that have deep orange yolks and others that are more yellow, but they all have access to the same feed and environment.

 

[CHICKEN CRAZY1]

Are they allowed to free range or confined to their pen? It's the variety of greens, bugs, and other goodies they find while free ranging that makes home-grown eggs so vividly colored and delicious. Some hens may never have exceptionally dark yolks--among our flock, we have some eggs that have deep orange yolks and others that are more yellow, but they all have access to the same feed and environment.

They are confined to a run for their saftey. The run is somewhat bare due to the fact that they eat every living thing. If I picked some grass would that help?

 

[PrairieChickens]

It might help a little, but not much. If you really want the quality eggs you're talking about, they need to be able to forage. You might consider constructing or purchasing a chicken tractor, so that they can have consistent exposure to fresh grass and bugs all day long. Otherwise, even just an hour or two of supervised free-ranging before it gets dark would be better than keeping them "cooped up". You can let them out about an hour before it gets dark, they'll roam around and do their chicken thing under your watchful eye, then put themselves to bed as it gets dark.

 

[CHICKEN CRAZY1]

It might help a little, but not much. If you really want the quality eggs you're talking about, they need to be able to forage. You might consider constructing or purchasing a chicken tractor, so that they can have consistent exposure to fresh grass and bugs all day long. Otherwise, even just an hour or two of supervised free-ranging before it gets dark would be better than keeping them "cooped up". You can let them out about an hour before it gets dark, they'll roam around and do their chicken thing under your watchful eye, then put themselves to bed as it gets dark.

I think a chicken tractor would be the best option. We live next to the woods and have a veriety of predetors,not including our own dogs and cats. I would like to let them free range, but only half of the flock comes when I call.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Yeah, if you let chickens out to free range, expect them to stay out until it gets dark. It's no simple matter to round up a flock of free ranging chickens when there is still daylight, though I have been able to do it a couple of times with treats and bribery. Far too much work to do every day.

 

[CHICKEN CRAZY1]

Thank you for your advice!

 

[petrel]

One of the reasons we got into byc is because we had received some eggs like you described from a friend. He has Red Stars, Barred Rocks, and RIRs. All of the yolks were orange and quite plump. This led us to seek out other home grown eggs, both from organic operations and other back yard flocks. None were as orange, some were as plump.

I too want to know what causes this. I hope some of the more scientific chicken folk will weigh in. My guess is the fact that, in my friend's case, his 14 birds have over three grassy acres to roam AND it all backs up to a salt marsh. This affords his flock access to all the bugs they care to eat!

 

[CHICKEN CRAZY1]

That would help.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Pretty much! I read somewhere that it's the greens they eat while foraging that makes the yolks of pastured eggs so full and rich, but I haven't been able to verify that specifically. All I know is that when our chickens free-range, their eggs are at their best. When the hens are stuck in the run during bad weather or times when our schedule doesn't allow free ranging, the eggs are slightly less than awesome.