[audi]

My girls have been laying for 1 week now and the yokes are quite pale, is this because they are pullet eggs, or am I missing something in their diet?

[wolverine]

Brocolli seems to make mine orange but thy could be any greens mine just like brocolli   give it a try nothing to lose I buy it frozen from Iceland for 1 quid

[audi]

Thanks I will do that I have some in the fridge, do you cook it?

[tesni]

I agree with W, greens seem to do the trick.  Mine get to range round the garden to nip grass for a couple of hours every few days (or they would nip it bare!) also give them the uncooked trimmings from cabbage, cauli and broccoli.  Any left over spinach (cooked & uncooked) is fought over ..... anything green seems ok by them! and we love the orangy yolks too  

[alancane]

Anything green from grass to brocolli will help the yolks turn more orange.

[Ice]

If you want really dark yellow yolks then do what the Italians do and feed them carrots every day.

[alancane]

Oh! I never knew that?

[Ice]

Makes sense.

[orchardlady]

I believe it is the carotene (or is that carotin?) in green plants that make the egg yolks yellow/orange. I had definitive proof of this. When we had all the snow this past winter I was only able to clear small patches of grass that were quickly stripped. As the snow stayed for some days the cleared areas were more areas for standing on rather than ranging. The yolks were a very insipid pale yellow.

[wolverine]

I cook it in the microwave then cut it up they love it. also for a laugh cook some brussles and throw them one to start with ha ha I call it chicken rugby its so funny. I tried spinich yestrday and they weren't keen also about the carrots mine don't seem to like them I gave them some the otherday and they were still there in the morning?? not like them at all ha ha 
 

[Brenda Babes]

If they are just young new layers then the yolks should get more yellow as they get better at laying. At first the eggs I was getting were quite small and very pale but now I get lovely big bright yellow yolks. I feed them any veg left over from dinner (as well as the cooked peels), spaghetti (which is fun), corn, rice, buckwheat and some corn. Try anything out..... as long as it's not meat......and you will soon find out what they like best!

[audi]

Thank you for all your replies.  today I gave them some broccoli which I lightly cooked, they looked at it and did not eat it, so I left it for them and when I went back it was gone!  I will try other greens as well. Audi

[Ice]

they weren't keen also about the carrots mine don't seem to like them I gave them some the otherday and they were still there in the morning?? not like them at all ha ha 
 

Did you grate them?  Mine didn't know what to do with them until I grated them and then they scoffed them down.

[EJCTM]

as long as it's not meat

I give mine leftover cooked meat - they really love it. I don't give any chickenmeat just because it doesn't seem right, but I know other keepers who do.

They eat worms and slugs and bugs in the garden so meat is not off bounds.

Mine especially like the fatty trimmings off steak cut up small, they can strip the meat off a pork chop bone, and like leftover fish skins too, with or without batter!

I try and give as many kitchen scraps as I can as this gives them a varied diet and ultimately they eat less bought-in feed, and the whole enterprise is more economical. Although I love the chooks to bits, I don't want it to cost more to keep them than I save in having to buy eggs, if that makes sense.

Also garden weeds go down very well.

[wolverine]

Ha ha if you or anyone else can find a way of keeping (healthy) hens that costs less than buying eggs let me know!!!!