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Yolk Colour
Why are my hens laying eggs with pale coloured yolks?
 There is nothing nicer than cracking open one of your own home-grown eggs to find a lovely golden yolk in the bowl, but sometimes yolks can be paler than we would like and there can be a number of reasons for this.
Ill health and worm infestations can cause pale coloured yolks to be produced, so birds should be regularly inspected for signs of illness and an effective de-worming programme should be followed to maintain bird health and egg quality. Some breeds of chicken may simply lay paler yolks than other breeds and there can be some variation within breeds, but generally yolk colour is governed by what the hens are fed. More specifically it is the carotenoid content of the hens feed that determines the colour of the yolk they produce. Ingredients such as maize, grass meal, alfalfa and marigold are high in carotenoids and are commonly used in layers feeds to give a natural golden yolk colour, however some manufactured feeds contain artificial colouring agents, so it is always worth checking the ingredients list on your bag of layers feed to ensure that you know exactly what you are feeding your hens. Providing birds with access to good quality grass and other green foods will further increase their carotenoid intake, but you may find that hens who free-range will produce paler yolks during the winter when the quality and quantity of grass is greatly diminished.
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