i added a free range hen mix to my game bird starter two weeks ago, the yolks have noticably gone more golden.
How to make yolks more yellow?
- Thread starter cmtigger
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 10
- 0
- 22
From what i have been told exposure to light has a lot to do with yoke coloration. A friend used to work in a feed mill, and they added a dye to their chicken feed to make the yokes a darker yellow. Egg factories have the chickens inside with no exposure to sun. He said with out this the yokes would be really pale almost white..
With that said i feed all of my coturnx quail purena game bird starter all their life... I have not seen any difference in yoke color from inside with 60 watt bulb, to outside in sunlight.. Im getting dark yellow yokes.. Im not sure how fluorescent lighting would affect coloration.
How many hours of light are your birds getting?.. Hope this helps steve e
With that said i feed all of my coturnx quail purena game bird starter all their life... I have not seen any difference in yoke color from inside with 60 watt bulb, to outside in sunlight.. Im getting dark yellow yokes.. Im not sure how fluorescent lighting would affect coloration.
How many hours of light are your birds getting?.. Hope this helps steve e
I think eggs with darker yokes taste better, maybe it's a stronger flavor? Are they more nutritious? I'm looking for more information.
Last edited:
- Jul 26, 2014
- 46
- 55
- 109
Quail seem to be exceptionally leery about trying new foods. Way more than chickens. I gave mine watermelon the other day. They approached, interested, and some shook their heads in disgust even though they hadn't tried it yet. Eventually a brave soul takes a peck, takes another peck, then the others try it and by the end of the day the watermelon was completely gone. Now it's a favorite.
As for your original question... yolk color is derived from carotenoids (eg beta carotene) in the food they eat. Color has less to do with nutrition. That said, often food high in nutrients are high in carotenoids, hence the correlation. Quail will develop a richly colored yolk by eating a regular diet of greens, insects seeds, in addition to their base feed, which may or may not contain color-boosting ingredients. Try offering finely grated carrots! Red bell pepper skin would probably contribute a dramatic effect as well.
maycwindu
I never raised quail, but I agree with what you say. I have one hen that will look at something I think is a treat, she may just walk away, or another hen will rush over and grab it. Then she's interested. The other day I found a 2" long large pine beetle in my wood stack. I captured it and gave it to my hens. 2 of them looked at it and said "Ugh, gross..." When it started to crawl away the third was on it. She was so excited the other 2 joined in, and one of them took off across the yard with the biggest piece. It was funny to watch.Startena as in 30% protein? My understanding is once they're adults quail should be feed ~20% protein.
FWIW, I wind up at tractor supply for feed and use purina flock raiser. It's 20% protein, but needs calcium on the side. Yokes are lighter that chicken eggs, but the eggs are delicious.
FWIW, I wind up at tractor supply for feed and use purina flock raiser. It's 20% protein, but needs calcium on the side. Yokes are lighter that chicken eggs, but the eggs are delicious.
I'm starting mine on flock raiser too. My usual brand isn't available here at my new place.
Similar threads
New posts New threads Active threads
-
Latest threads
-
Help with the identity identification please
- Started by jimmy85
- Replies: 0
-
-
6 week old chick has lost use of legs
- Started by Kizzy88
- Replies: 0
-
-
-
-
Threads with more replies in the last 15 days
-
-
•STAR WARS & MARVEL (RP) “The SWaM Universe”•- Started by Blue Raptor
- Replies: 510
-
-
Funniest Picture, Joke, Meme or Video You’ve Seen. 🥴
- Started by Blue Raptor
- Replies: 334
-
Debate on food, free range and egg quality...
- Started by Badchickenpun
- Replies: 204
-
