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Katie
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - 06/21/2009 : 8:30:50 PM
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| My hylines just began laying about 10 days ago. I keep them on pasture about 6 -7 hours a day, but they also eat layer pellets and a little scratch. I'm hoping their yolks will turn from pale yellow to a rich orange color. I always thought the color change was due to pasture, but so far my chickens eggs are still pale. Any thoughts on this? |
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Katie
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 4:38:53 PM
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Okay, I've figured it out. My chickens' egg yolks are slowly becoming darker in color - so I guess it takes more than 10 days on pasture to do the trick! (I'm a little impatient, I guess!). Also, if your birds are not on pasture, you can feed them spinach, chard, carrots or tomatoes and their yolks will turn a richer color. And for a real saffron orange color, you need marigold petals. There are two types of marigold, however. I couldn't get my chickens to eat the marigolds I planted for them, and then I learned that I planted the wrong kind! Chickens will eat Calendula marigolds, not Tagetes. Tagetes are for planting next to your tomatoes to keep the bugs off and chickens won't eat these. But Calendula is a chicken's dream come true. So when purchasing marigold seed or plants for your chickens, choose Calendula officionalis (or Marsh Marigold) rather than Tagetes (also known as African or French Marigold).
It seems like a lot of you looked at this topic but no one replied, so I hope this is helpful for those of you interested!
Katie
p.s. My chickens also seem to really like rose petals! |
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Katie
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2009 : 5:50:36 PM
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| Correction: Calendula Officionalis is also known as pot marigold, NOT marsh marigold. Sorry! |
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Horizon Structures
USA
82 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2009 : 11:36:56 AM
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Awesome info, Katie! Thanks for posting!
- Nicole -
www.HorizonStructures.com
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egg yolk color
