[Freeranger]

Please help advise needed...white yolks urrh....I'm new to keeping chickens. I have 12 Rhode Island Red Xs they are all aprox 28 weeks now and all laying. All free range with 1/4 acre grass paddock and huge chicken run and coup. After cracking open some eggs last week I've noticed one egg that was a normal looking brown shelled egg but the yolk is almost white. I'm trying to sell eggs and this looks awful when its cracked open, I wouldn't eat it...at the minute I'm breaking every egg and I do have just one white yolk everyday. I trying to locate which chicken it is but very hard! They are feed layers pellets and all look extremely happy and healthy..anyone else come across this before ??

[ANHBUC]

Hello and welcome to the site Freeranger.   

If you have not had your birds long I would suggest that you worm them with flubenvet which should be done 2 to 4 times a year.  I have read that a worm burden can affect the colour of the egg yolk so it would probably be the best place to start.  You can still eat their eggs whilst they are being treated.  If you are not giving them a daily dose each you will have to confine them so they eat enough of the flubenvet coated layers pellets. 

[Freeranger]

Thank you so much for that I'm off to buy some now :-)

[joyfull]

how are the yolks now Freeranger?

[Sassy]

I have heard of folks, when trying to decide which hen is laying which egg using a food colouring aound the vent which will mark the egg when laying. You could try this to identify which hen it is.

[compostqueen]

I had pale yolks when my girls first started laying    Soon they will be the colour of sunshine

[allotmentann]

I know nothing about keeping chickens! But the organic eggs that I buy have a note printed on the box saying that the colour of the yolk is affected by how much sunshine the hens get. Oddly, more sunshine, paler yolks! And it as been very sunny lately!

[ANHBUC]

I know nothing about keeping chickens! But the organic eggs that I buy have a note printed on the box saying that the colour of the yolk is affected by how much sunshine the hens get. Oddly, more sunshine, paler yolks! And it as been very sunny lately!

That is interesting Ann, it is not something I have heard before.

[Sassy]

I know nothing about keeping chickens! But the organic eggs that I buy have a note printed on the box saying that the colour of the yolk is affected by how much sunshine the hens get. Oddly, more sunshine, paler yolks! And it as been very sunny lately!

That is interesting Ann, it is not something I have heard before.

Nor have I. I thought it was the amount of chlorophyll in the greens they eat that gives a deep yellow colour to the yolk. The more sun the more chlorophyll there should be - mind you it is a long time since I was at school in biology

[Freeranger]

Thank you everyone for all your help. I've had a job tracking some Flubenvet down but have some ordered and should be with me this week. I had before i wrote to you already given all my chickens Verm-X and didn't realise that it was only preventing worms and not actually killing them, another lesson learnt ! Since I've read your comments about worming my girls and waiting for Flubenvet I've been giving Diatom hoping this will help if worms are an issue...but at the moment I still have the white yolk ..great idea on food colouring..thank you

[grinling]

commercial birds have marigold added to the feed, mine are so much better just by free range.