What do you need to feed chicken if you want rich, bright orange yolks?
I've recently started raising my own chickens. I've seen some people use eggs with really bright yolks, but the eggs my chickens produce don't look like this. What can I feed them to get that bright color?
Answers ( 1 )
Bright orange or dark yellow yolks come from healthy chickens fed a diet high in beta carotene and a few other nutrients.
Carrots, pumpkins, kale, purple or red cabbage, apricots- even broccoli leaves and crowns, which most chickens love- will provide richer-colored yolks. At a feed store, you can buy powdered marigold petal supplements, and, of course, don't forget the meat.
Really- chickens are omnivores, and they like their meat. Insects, small grubs and bits of small insects are food of the gods to a chicken. Piles of leaves to scratch in and find a morsel or two, a dug-over bit of earth to dissect, a handful of mealy worms tossed into the chicken yard in a game of hide and seek will keep your chickens happy, healthy, and producing brightly-yolked eggs.