Feeding your chickens egg yolks

[Jbugner23]

Hey everyone!

I am a pastry chef and baker and have a business out of my house, and one of the main desserts I make is the French Macaron. This cookie only uses the egg white of the egg and I don’t have many other recipes that use only egg yolks, so I’m always generating a lot of yolks that end up going into the garbage.
I was wondering if I can feed the yolks scrambled to my chickens? We have 14 Easter Egger chickens. They are 8 weeks old now. I just hate to waste all these egg yolks. And our chickens aren’t producing eggs yet, so we’re still buying eggs from the store. I get cage free brown eggs.
Thanks!

 

[PirateGirl]

Yep, they can eat the yolks, cooked or raw, and once they are old enough to lay, they can eat the shells too! Definitely don't just throw them away!

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Chickens love scrambled eggs.

 

[50-45-1]

Have you thought about making custard?
When i get to many eggs i make an angle food cake and with the yolks i make custard.
Also those yolks would make good egg noodles.
But yes cook them up and feed them back to the chickens or your dog. Very healthy for them.

 

[Shadrach]

Hey everyone!

I am a pastry chef and baker and have a business out of my house, and one of the main desserts I make is the French Macaron. This cookie only uses the egg white of the egg and I don’t have many other recipes that use only egg yolks, so I’m always generating a lot of yolks that end up going into the garbage.
I was wondering if I can feed the yolks scrambled to my chickens? We have 14 Easter Egger chickens. They are 8 weeks old now. I just hate to waste all these egg yolks. And our chickens aren’t producing eggs yet, so we’re still buying eggs from the store. I get cage free brown eggs.
Thanks!

Yes but....
The yolk contains the smaller proportion of the protein in the egg and most of the cholesterol. You don't say how many yolks you were considering feeding your chickens but if you're a pastry chef that sounds like a lot of yolks to me.
So it's fine to feed a small amount of egg back to a chicken, but like anything else that is in addition to their proper feed (?) moderation is the key.

 

[Jbugner23]

Yes but....
The yolk contains the smaller proportion of the protein in the egg and most of the cholesterol. You don't say how many yolks you were considering feeding your chickens but if you're a pastry chef that sounds like a lot of yolks to me.
So it's fine to feed a small amount of egg back to a chicken, but like anything else that is in addition to their proper feed (?) moderation is the key.

I was thinking 3-6 yolks in a day. And not everyday either. And yes in addition to regular feed. We have feed out for them all day. The yolks would just be a treat for them.

 

[Shadrach]

I was thinking 3-6 yolks in a day. And not everyday either. And yes in addition to regular feed. We have feed out for them all day. The yolks would just be a treat for them.

Is that 3 to 6 yolks per chicken or in total?
I don't have any research on this so this is just my considered opinion. I would limit to say 4 yolks per fowl per week. My concern is the high cholesterol. Chickens get heart problems much like humans.

 

[PrettyChickens15]

As long as you don't encourage them to actually break and eat eggs it should be fine.

 

[Compost King]

All my yolks go back to my chickens, chickens love it more than anything and I mix the shell into the yolks as well as table scraps that are healthy for them. Scratch grains are added in winter.
I hate egg yolks, I realize they are healthier than just whites alone but I add fats to to the egg whites in the form of cheese and sunflower seeds.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I am very careful with treats. I know that the vast majority of their diet (when they don’t free range) should be well-balanced feed. So they get the protein, vitamins, minerals, carbs, and fiber they need. I give my four pullets one whole scrambled egg 2-3 times a week. Probably I’m conservative, but I read a lot and this was my conclusion. Like @Shadrach , I don’t have any research , just caution!