Egg yolks come in a spectrum of colours ranging from pale yellow to deep orange. A common misconception is that the colour is linked to the nutritional value of your egg. In fact, it is linked to the chicken’s diet. A deeper egg yolk colour is the result of a diet high in carotenoids, which is the red pigment found in plants.
Shed farmed chooks eat mostly grain and are often supplemented with an artificial colouring agent to produce eggs with a consistently deeper colour. At Forage Farms, our hens eat a combined diet of our grain ration and what is growing in the paddock, including plants, grasses and bugs - we don’t add any artificial colouring agents to their rations. Often winters and springs are cool and dry, and the summer grasses have burnt off. As a result, our egg yolks can be paler. The good news is the egg quality and nutritional value haven’t changed.
An industry-supplied yolk colour fan that allows producers to select what colouring agent is added to the ration to ensure consistent yolk colour.
The Forage Farms egg is an honest reflection of what’s happening seasonally at the farm. Typically, in summer our egg yolks will be darker due to higher rainfall and bountiful plant matter. If there is a drought, however, you can expect to find a paler yolk when you crack it open.
We pride ourselves on caring for our land and our animals. We know that how we farm creates food that is better for our landscape, our animals and our customers – no nonsense, no nasties.
