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

[Bella]

I've had my chickens for about 6 months now. When my husband first heard that I wanted chickens in Chicago, he was more than a little confused, but after a trip to Europe, and having the fresh, rich, dark orange yolked eggs there, he changed his mind, and jumped onboard.

 

When we first got our chickens, we fed them laying pellets and the yolks were a pale, store bought looking yellow. We read up and found that with free ranging, they would get the darker orange yolks, so we started allowing them to free range in the backyard for several hours a day and they still had pale yellow yolks.

 

We heard that corn gives the yolks the dark yellow color and rich taste, so we started feeding them cracked corn along with their laying pellets, and the yolks did not change.

 

We were told that the feed might be the reason for the pale yellow yolks, and we should try organic, so we gradually switched them over to organic, soy free layer pellets (at $30 a bag), free ranging throughout most of the day, and plenty of cracked corn. We still had pale yellow eggs.

 

We read that the more green foods they get, the darker the yolk would be, so we started giving them lots of fresh greens, spinach, lettuce, grass clippings, anything that we could find that was green, fresh fruits and veggies, cracked corn, organic, non soy layer pellets (at $30 a bag), and free ranging most of the day and still the yolks were pale yellow.

 

A few days ago we drove 45 minutes out of the city to a Tractor Supply store. They had Purina Layena feed for $15 bag. There were only 2 bags left, so I bought them on a whim. I started feeding it to my chickens 4 days ago. My yolks are a nice, dark orange.

 

I've spent 6 months trying to figure this formula out, so for all of you newbies (like me!) who are trying to get that dark orange color to your yolks, just do the easy things and switch to the Purina Layena brand food and save yourself a world of headache and experiments.

 

I also don't believe it has much to do with the breed. I have 1 Red Star, 1 Rhode Island Red, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte, and 1 Gold Laced Wyandotte.

 

I hope this helps and saves others the frustration that I went through. Bottom line is that in MY experience, NONE of the things that people said would make my chicken have dark orange yolks worked. I will still give my hens treats, and they will ALWAYS be able to free range in our backyard because I want them to be happy chickens, but I'll be happy to FINALLY have my dark yolked, rich, delicious eggs that we missed so dearly.

[Sherri]

I use that same feed and my eggs have always been a dark orange - and as one person put it - they stand up and look back at you.  

Sherri Sachs

There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from a furnace. - Aldo Leopold, 1949 - "February - Good Oak"

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[Corey Gilson]

Your "higher" chordate-types, your birds, mammals, etc. don't have the biochemistry to produce many pigments, and the color we do have comes from the food that we eat.  In eggs.  That orange-y color comes from botanical anthocyanin in their diet.  I'd throw out a wild guess, and say Purina is adding marigold flowers to their feed.  Supplementing their feed with beets and carrots would probably have the same effect.  There is a story about how the faces of British WWII bombers, in their attempt to boost their night vision with tons of betacarotine-packed carrots, turned orange.  

Corey

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[Deborah Niemann-Boehle]

I know a lot of people say that free-ranging makes dark yolks, but obviously there is something that some free-range birds eat that causes that color. I’ve seen plenty of birds outside that did not have those dark orange yolks, and usually they have a small yard or one that has zero vegetation left in it, which would also mean that bugs are not part of the diet because most don’t just walk around on bare dirt. I was quite confused this summer about why our current eggs are not as golden as they used to be when we haven’t changed anything. Then I read a post by Joel Salatin who said that he’s noticed some hens are much lazier and just hang out by the feeder rather than going out in the pasture. Then it clicked! We have the oddest bunch of chickens I’ve seen in 11 years. They have many weird habits, and one of them is that they do NOT range like chickens we’ve had in the past. So, we started removing their chicken feed from about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. so if they want to eat, they have to go outside, and the yolks have darkened up. I have no idea what they’re eating out there, but it’s something significant. I really should have seen the connection sooner with these hens because I’ve noticed for years that the yolks get more pale in the winter once all the vegetation and bugs are dead.

That’s very interesting about the WWII bombers! I noticed that my palms got orange a few years ago when I went a little crazy with carrot juice!

Deborah Niemann

author of Homegrown & Handmade (2011), Ecothrifty (2012), and Raising Goats Naturally (2013)

http://www.ThriftyHomesteader.com

http://www.AntiquityOaks.com

815-358-2450 (central time) preferred number

815-341-1223

[Susie]

Thats interesting! My hens are molting right now so i have had to buy eggs. I usually get them from the farmers market, from free range, organic sources. I have never ever been able to find someone selling eggs that compare to my hens eggs though. They have always had crazy orange delightful yolks. I havent ever had a pale one. But i always wonder why the ones I buy from the farms are not that way? My chickens just eat organic layer feed from Belmont Feed... they graze all day, eat lots of grass and bugs... I give them older fruit, and older greens that have become too soft. We have a small yard but lots of plants. I wonder what the secret is! 

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There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from a furnace. - Aldo Leopold, 1949 - "February - Good Oak"

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[Linda]

I think Corey is right and Layena includes something that will create darker yolks. 

Like Deborah, I've noticed that the egg yolk color is dependent on how much the bird is foraging. I always thought it was the dark, leafy greens that led to darker colored yolks, but I'm not sure where I would have read that. 

[Bryan, Jean]

Interesting cultural aside:  My brother visited Japan earlier this year where he enjoyed some eggs from hens that had been feed flower petals in order to achieve a very orange almost red yolk.   

 

Jean

 

 

[Todd Allen]

We give away a lot of eggs and most people like them though one told us she didn't because they were too strong flavored, too eggy and they were unnaturally colored.  She asked if we knew before we got chickens that the eggs might turn out so different and if we had tried anything to get normal eggs...

As we transitioned off layer feed we got darker yolks, brighter whites and richer flavor.  But we get variation.  The richest eggs come from young pullets or hens that have taken a break in laying.   Egg quality drops off a little over time, especially for very prolific hens.

On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 9:15 AM, Bryan, Jean <JBR...@depaul.edu> wrote:

Interesting cultural aside:  My brother visited Japan earlier this year where he enjoyed some eggs from hens that had been feed flower petals in order to achieve a very orange almost red yolk.   

 

Jean

 

 

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[mo cahill]

sounds like i should be saving marigold seeds. try to keep my eggs the prettiest. 

i imagine on a feed like purina they are just using extra beta-carotene. it is the kind of thing that purina would know their customers want. 

i raised a lot of long lived dogs on purina. when i asked my vet what he thought, his answer was that they are constantly researching and testing. they make so many feeds that their research covers practically the whole animal kingdom. the only reason  i am not feeding it now is that i have a dog with allergies. 

my daughter worked at petsmart for a while and they called the aisle with the purina products- the dog don't die aisle. 

[laura dykstra]

How about feeding pumpkin to them?  Most of the stores are clearing out their supplies, if they haven't already.  Last year we bought out the supply left over at Menard's for 50 cents a pumpkin.

If you have a place where you can stash a few pumpkins (which will freeze with winter temperatures), it might help with yolk color as long as the pumpkin supply holds out.

We have a silo which we put surplus pumpkins into, they freeze solid as soon as it gets cold outside (only one year did they thaw and freeze too many times), and we feed the chickens and cows a pumpkin a day when there is no grass or fresh veggies/fruit to be found.

On a smaller scale, get a few pumpkins and cut them up into Ziploc baggies, then put in the deep-freeze if you have space.  Our chickens eat the pumpkins frozen, and seem to like them better that way.  

Pumpkin and pumpkin seeds are said to help with natural worming, too.

 

Laura
http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/

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From: mo cahill <moahsa...@gmail.com>
To: chicago-chick...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Friday, November 1, 2013 12:24 PM
Subject: [chickens] Re: The Feed and Yolk Experiment: Chicken feed and dark orange yolk color

[Mei]

Have you ever seen those Purdue commercials that claim their chickens' skin is yellow because they feed them marigolds? First of all, the skin is yellow because they use a breed that naturally has yellow skin. Second of all, if my chickens are any judge, marigolds are not tasty. I grow them in the garden, but the chickens are not interested. They'll pick at the seeds a little bit if they have no other treats. If Purdue's chickens are actually eating marigold flowers, it's my opinion that they are merely starved for something other than regular feed.

On the other hand, my chickens do love pumpkin, too. Their egg yolks are already orange, so I can't say if it has an effect on color. It's a nice treat, though. They eat all the pumpkin seeds, guts, and then pick at the flesh.

[Sherri]

I just picked up some after-holiday pumpkins for the girls.  Any tips on whether to serve them raw or roast them?

Sherri Sachs

There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from a furnace. - Aldo Leopold, 1949 - "February - Good Oak"

[Deborah Niemann]

Raw works fine.

Deborah

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Deborah Niemann
author of Homegrown and Handmade (2011)
Ecothrifty (2012) and Raising Goats Naturally (2013)
http://antiquityoaks.blogspot.com
815-358-2450 preferred number (central time zone)
815-341-1223
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." -- Henry David Thoreau

[Bella]

Interesting tid-bits here, and I'm enjoying the feedback. The only reason I'm not really stoked about using Purina is because they can't confirm that they're non-GMO, which my last feed was. Then I started thinking, and realized that the cracked corn I give them pretty much constantly isn't likely to be non-GMO either, so I said what the heck, and my wallet is much happier, I'm much happier, and my chickens even seem to be happier.

 

 

As far as pumpkins go--- I've been feeding the guts to my girls a bit at a time, and they love it, but I gave them some of the actual pumpkin, and they haven't really been too pleased. I was going to buy a few cheap ones at the grocery, but if they aren't into it, I probably won't.

 

One suggestion if you're asking for pumpkins from your neighbors- make SURE to ask if they sprayed any chemicals on them before you give them to your chickens. I've heard of everything from Pledge to Windex to Nail polish remover to keep the rodents away while they're on display. They may not think about it, but you should think to ask!

 

I would imagine that the pumpkin would also give those fantastic orange yolks, so I'm a bit bummed that the hens aren't eating it. I may try cooking it and then serving it that way. Geesh, they're spoiled.

[norma bolante]

I grew my own pumpkins this year....33 total....gave 13 away ,,,the   rest is cooked,,,for me and hubby and  the hens ...thinking about growing again  next  year... it was a lot of fun...my  coup is in the garage, the run is connected to the coup.. we have no electric in the garage,,, some  day we hope to have the money to get that taken care ,,,so we have 2 ,,18 volt  rechargeable  lights , they last for 8 hrs not so bright that that the hens have trouble sleeping. .that's  what works for me. 
 

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Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2013 08:28:20 -0800
From: bella...@hotmail.com
To: chicago-chick...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [chickens] Re: The Feed and Yolk Experiment: Chicken feed and dark orange yolk color

[URwhatUeat]

I have grown marigolds and calendula (aka pot marigold) for the girls to eat, but they are not interested.
The two things that do make the yokes dark orange are kale and adding 0.5 lbs of tumeric to 50lbs of feed.  I do that with every other bag. It is also suppose to be good for there digestive track.