I wanted to take a moment to talk about some aspects in yolk color, in relation to nutrition, quality and over all chicken health. Not to long ago I shared some of my thoughts on the subject via my IG account. Stating - that while egg yolk color and texture are important, they are not always a good stand alone way to judge a quality laying hen - or her eggs.
These two eggs were laid the same exact day, from hens fed the exact same way... organic feed, organic produce and whole food kitchen scraps. In addition they are given the same segmented pasture system. Yet - these yolks are different. Different in height, color and even in texture.
Does this mean one is far more superior than the other?
Not really.
The pigment that gives eggs their color is called xanthophylls, and it is often obtained from foods such as corn, alfalfa and beans. It can also be found in green grass and yellow petals. However - the over all nutritional content is not directly linked to the color of an egg yolk in and of it's self.
Did you know that some commercial feed producers put pigment enhancers in their feed to assist in the coloring - these can be synthetic or natural additions like marigold petals. This is done solely for consumer preference, and not nutrition. Except in the area of adding flax meal or other high OMEGA sources to the hen's daily ration, as this practice is showing to increase the omega content per egg laid and can add some variations to egg yolk and texture.
There is some debate that a chicken's breed may effect the color of the egg yolk, or the hen's various hormone cycles at any given time of day. Weather, stress and obviously living conditions play a huge part in over all chicken health and egg yolk color.
So why two different colors of yolk
I don't have a solid answer, yet - just a couple of theories. But I do know that my girls get the best ingredients, lots of sunlight, garden bugs and greens. I trust that what I put into them will give me some of the best, high quality eggs out there.
While I believe that brightly colored yolks can be one of many indicators for over all health and quality of your hen, and that pastured hens lay the best eggs. I do not believe that one should base an entire dozen quality on egg color alone. I advocate that it is best to know your producer, their practices and why they do what they do.
