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

[easyvilleacres]

Great thread! Any updates?

 

[changocoy]

Feed them chili powder, red bell pepper, and red jalapeño for a week and thell have deep red yolks.

 

[kellyloveschad]

can a eggs yolk be to orange??? and why are the yolks harder to break???

 

[changocoy]

can a eggs yolk be to orange??? and why are the yolks harder to break???

Yolk color is only personal preference. I like them orange so I feed red chard and collard greens to my chickens because I like the orange yolks, but if all I feed them is egg laying grain the yolks will be exactly the same yellow as store bought eggs.

Fresh eggs are harder to crack because the membrane in the shell is fresher. Often times store bought eggs are already close to 60 days old by the time you have them in your fridge. Fresh eggs would be just as easy to break open if you let them sit in your fridge for two months.

 

[kellyloveschad]

they are free range they don't really eat any of the food I buy!!! I just wanted to make sure it was ok because they are orange orange!!thought almost red this is all new to me!! lol

 

[MuscovyMadness]

they are free range they don't really eat any of the food I buy!!! I just wanted to make sure it was ok because they are orange orange!!thought almost red this is all new to me!! lol

Hey Kelly......my guys free range but also get fermented feed (5 grain scratch w/20% layer) along with fruits and veggies pureed every day. We have a local church that runs a food bank and they throw away a ridiculous amount of food. So me, along with another farmer, get all the food that is still good but must be discarded to make room for the following day's haul. I go twice a week and literally come home with probably 10 or more banana boxes overflowing with greens ...veggies..fruits of every kind ..potatoes.. wheat bread etc. I used to cut things into pieces but found the birds fight too much so now I just puree everything in my food processor. I'm mixed their fruit veggie smoothie with the fermented grains... my ducks and chickens lay ginormous eggs with deep orange yolks.
I tell everyone I meet it doesn't hurt to ask around ...my bird food bill is next to nothing and we are feeding a ton of birds. A lot of the food is perfectly fine and we pick the good stuff out for us first.... we even get boxes full of amazing cakes and desserts. I always pay it forward and make a box up for a few bird people I know. This is a day's worth of food.... although my huge bin of fermented feed will last me 2 days or more. Pics of one haul of the free food I get for my birds.

 

[kellyloveschad]

Hey Kelly......my guys free range but also get fermented feed (5 grain scratch w/20% layer) along with fruits and veggies pureed every day. We have a local church that runs a food bank and they throw away a ridiculous amount of food. So me, along with another farmer, get all the food that is still good but must be discarded to make room for the following day's haul. I go twice a week and literally come home with probably 10 or more banana boxes overflowing with greens ...veggies..fruits of every kind ..potatoes.. wheat bread etc. I used to cut things into pieces but found the birds fight too much so now I just puree everything in my food processor. I'm mixed their fruit veggie smoothie with the fermented grains... my ducks and chickens lay ginormous eggs with deep orange yolks.
I tell everyone I meet it doesn't hurt to ask around ...my bird food bill is next to nothing and we are feeding a ton of birds. A lot of the food is perfectly fine and we pick the good stuff out for us first.... we even get boxes full of amazing cakes and desserts. I always pay it forward and make a box up for a few bird people I know. This is a day's worth of food.... although my huge bin of fermented feed will last me 2 days or more. Pics of one haul of the free food I get for my birds.

that's an awesome ideal!!! because I will have to figure out something in the winter because I have had the some one 40pound bag of organic chicken food for my 15 chickens for the last two months!!! I was highly considering canning their garden I made them!!! they love picking their own strew berrys!!!

 

[MuscovyMadness]

​that's an awesome ideal!!! because I will have to figure out something in the winter because I have had the some one 40pound bag of organic chicken food for my 15 chickens for the last two months!!! I was highly considering canning their garden I made them!!!  they love picking their own strew berrys!!!

When I lived in MD I went to the local grocery store and asked the produce manager if I could have all the fruits and vegetables that weren't good enough to put on the shelves. .... things that they would be throwing out anyway. I used to get a couple banana boxes full of goodies. But when I moved to VA, the stores I went to told me they no longer gave food out to the farmers. I couldn't figure out why until I got this hook up with the church and learned that they have contracts with several places for food pick up. So you have several options to get free food for your birds. Just ask.

 

[kellyloveschad]

When I lived in MD I went to the local grocery store and asked the produce manager if I could have all the fruits and vegetables that weren't good enough to put on the shelves. .... things that they would be throwing out anyway. I used to get a couple banana boxes full of goodies. But when I moved to VA, the stores I went to told me they no longer gave food out to the farmers. I couldn't figure out why until I got this hook up with the church and learned that they have contracts with several places for food pick up. So you have several options to get free food for your birds. Just ask.

I work at Notre dame so I will have to talk to my boss!!!

 

[MuscovyMadness]

I work at Notre dame so I will have to talk to my boss!!! 

There ya go!! How much do you want to bet the cafeteria throws away tons of food