The color of an egg yolk is almost exclusively due to the laying hen’s diet.
A bright yellow color can indicated a diet of mostly grains. This is common for eggs laid by caged hens who live on a factory diet of wheat and barley. These eggs tend to be the least nutritious.
A dark orange color is found in the yolks from hens with a more natural omnivorous diet. Despite popular belief, chickens are not herbivores. Wild hens will consume a diet filled with both grains and insects. Grubs, mealworms, grasshoppers, and nearly every other type of creepy crawler are packed with carotenoids. The varied diet of a pastured chicken results in the most nutritious eggs with the highest content of vitamins A, D and E, more beta-carotene, and more omega-3 fatty acids.
A light orange color is often attributed to free-range chickens on medium sized farming operations. These birds live a healthier life than their caged counterparts, but don’t have quiet the freedom of pastured chickens. The result is a mixed diet of grubs and grain that’s a little heavy on the grain side. The nutrition level of their eggs lies somewhere between eggs laid by caged and pastured chickens.
Many consumers assume that brown eggs are best, but that’s not always true! Surprisingly, the shell color has nothing to with nutrition. The color of an egg is actually determined by the coloring of the hen herself for most (but not all) breeds of chicken. Birds with white feathers near their ear holes tend to lay white eggs, while red-feathered birds lay brown eggs.
If you’re looking for the most nutritious egg, forget the shell and focus on how the hen was kept. Caged hens will produce the cheapest and least nutritious eggs. While a cage-free chicken will be happier and healthier, her eggs may not be any more nutritious if she still lives on a diet of mostly grain. Pastured eggs will cost more, but you get what you pay for. Free-range hens will meet somewhere in the middle for both price and health.
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