# green egg YOLK?



## mamaC11 (Jun 11, 2012)

I'm really just confused on this one. We got 2 eggs today, one from a buff orpington hen and one from a cherry egger hen. I cracked them for dinner tonight and the entire yolk is a dark green color. No foul odor, no real change in diet. what on earth could it be?


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## Guest (Nov 1, 2012)

Do the hens have access to any cattle feed that has cottonseed meal in it? If they eat any cottonseed meal, it wil turn the yolks green.

If that's not it, I'm not sure what caused it.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Cottonseed meal is not fed to poultry because the gossypol causes the egg yolks to turn olive green, after a reasonable storage time. High levels of consumption of gossypol from whole cottonseed or cottonseed meal can cause reduced growth and feed intake. Over a prolonged period, it causes damage to the heart, liver and lungs resulting in cardiac irregularity, cardiac failure (heart attack), pulmonary edema, and labored breathing. High levels of gossypol can also cause anemia by tying up available iron in the diet.

BC-3002 Feeding Whole Cottonseed to Cattle : Extension : Clemson University : South Carolina


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## mamaC11 (Jun 11, 2012)

no, no cattle, just goats. the goats only get hay, alfalfa pellets and BOSS. The girls are on super layer feed. what about grass seed? I forgot that DH seeded a plot of land to grow some rye and bermuda grass and these 2 gals got out and ate a bit, could that be it?


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## jbowyer01 (Aug 4, 2008)

I dont know how true this is, but I was told if chickens eat a lot of raw acorns their egg yolks can be green.


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## Guest (Nov 1, 2012)

Google yielded some interesting results. Such as:


Berry (1938) suggested that fresh alfalfa, especially when consumed by hens during the winter months, would cause olive-colored yolks. The hens used by Berry, however, had access to an alfalfa range which may possibly have contained plants other than alfalfa which were responsible for this . . . 
Acorns One Cause of Olive-Colored Yolks


Sometimes free ranging hens will produce eggs with green yolks, most frequently in the spring when plants are most lush . The birds should be given more compound feed to reduce the proportion of greens in the diet to correct the problem.
Problems with Eggs


Green yolks caused by acorns and shepherd's purse:
The Chicken Encyclopedia: An Illustrated Reference - Gail Damerow - Google Books


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## CFarmerLady (Dec 1, 2011)

My grandfather's chickens once ate part of his styrofoam fishing boat and laid green eggs for a week.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

Off topic but I have to watch out where I store and strifoam as the chickens will cat it .no problems with green yolks


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