Egg yolk color can range from nearly white to deep orange, and it’s a surprisingly accurate reflection of what your hen has been eating. During the course of your breakfast, baking, and culinary adventures, you may have noticed that the color of an egg yolk is not always consistent. There can be quite a range of tones from pale to dark. And maybe you have some hens of your own, and the color of their egg yolks doesn’t quite match the color of egg yolks from the store. So what affects egg yolk color? And does it affect the taste or nutritional value?
How Hen Diet Affects Egg Yolk Color
Turns out, the reason is pretty benign. The color of an egg yolk hinges mostly on the diet of the hen. Specifically, it depends on the amount of carotenoids that the hen’s diet contains. You might recall that word—carotenoids—as the pigments that give things like carrots, pumpkins, tomatoes, corn and other plants their various colors. These pigments tend to lean towards the long wavelengths of the color spectrum—think red, orange, and yellow.
Animals don’t manufacture these pigments themselves; they obtain them from plants that they eat. So your egg yolk color depends directly on what foods your hen consumes, and how many and what types of carotenoids they contain.
Why Egg Yolk Color Varies from Pale to Dark
You can find eggs with yolks that are nearly white, some that are a deep red, and most somewhere in between. There’s even an industry-standard color checker chart, known as the DSM Yolk Color Fan, on which yolks can be judged.
- Hens that consume plenty of grains in their diet—cornmeal, wheat and barley tend to lay eggs with light-colored yolks.
- Hens that enjoy alfalfa might see vividly yellow yolks.
- Free-ranging chickens and those with access to pasture often produce more yolks with an intense orange color, thanks to the variety of edibles they may come across during their travels, including seeds and bugs.
- Seasonal changes in yolk color are quite common—you’ll see brighter colors during the summer when peak grazing is in place. And you may see very pale yolks during the winter, when the hens aren’t eating plants with carotenoids.
- Some chicken owners even try to make the yolk color richer by supplementing their hens’ meals with certain flowers.
Does Egg Yolk Color Affect Nutrition?
Should you particularly care about the yolk color? Does yolk color affect nutrition in any meaningful way?
Nope—not to any degree that matters. Regardless of yolk color, you’ll still get all the terrific protein, vitamins, and antioxidants that make eggs such a popular “power food.”
What about taste? It’s definitely under-studied, but it seems that darker/richer colors—where the hen’s diet was more varied—may make for a slightly more flavorful egg.
But really, there is little reason to focus on this. Instead, just think of egg yolk as a fun reminder of where your backyard chickens’ diet came from, and watch the colors change with the seasons.
Egg Yolks: Final Thoughts
Egg yolk color is more than just a visual detail—it’s a subtle reflection of season, diet, and lifestyle. Whether your hens are pasture-raised, supplemented with vibrant greens, or fed a simple grain mix, the yolk color tells part of their story. While it may not significantly impact nutrition or taste, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of your flock. Keep an eye on those shades—they might just tell you more than you think.
This article was written for Hobby Farms and Chickens magazines. Click here to subscribe.
