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What's in our natural egg feed? And why is it in there anyway?

written by

Marie Reedell

posted on

March 29, 2024

chickens-on-pasture.jpg

New & Honest Egg Feed

Our egg farmers recently switched to a new, natural, and 100% honest feed supplier (read the juicy details in last week's blog post). We are thrilled that they'll work with us to create a feed that fits our natural requirements:

  • Chemical-free
  • GMO-free
  • Soy-free
  • Corn-free
  • Ingredients from local, traceable farms as much as possible; certified organic if from a distributor
  • The least amount of synthetic ingredients possible
  • Provides optimal nutrition for our birds
  • Produces eggs packed with the most nutrition possible

This will be a long process and may take up to a year to get a blend that everyone is satisfied with. But, we've made good progress so far. 

The current feed contains:

Oats, rolled wheat, peas, alfalfa hay leaves, barley, fishmeal, sesame meal, raw liquid goat whey, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics.

It’s important to note that most farms would simply list the ingredients like they're shown above. But, at Miller’s Bio Farm, we provide full transparency. And that includes doing the research and providing you with all the nitty gritty details about the feed, including the ingredients in the ingredients (view the complete list at the bottom of this post).

When you do it this way, you can be surprised at what you find. And then you start to ask questions about how to most naturally provide optimal nutrition for the birds, which then transfers optimal nutrition to the eggs.

I've emailed back and forth with the egg farmers and the new feed supplier. I read the technical sheets for every single ingredient (and reached out to the companies if I needed more info). I had a 45-minute phone call with a feed specialist from Fertrell. I've done some additional research online. Everything has been very enlightening. 

From all that research, I was able to answer all the questions from our amazing and thoughtful customers.

Top Laying Hen Feed Questions & Answers

What can’t the hens just forage for food naturally?

Birds in the wild eat a very diverse diet. They are foragers and eat a range of grasses, seeds, bugs, and other things they can find. They would be fairly happy this way, especially in the warmer months. But… when the grass isn’t growing, they may not find enough food. They may not produce many eggs (if any at all) in the winter. And finally, they may fall into poor health.

This is not what we want. Our eggs are farmed eggs. We want to provide optimal nutrition and a happy lifestyle to our birds year round. I mean, this is the least we can do to thank them for providing us with beautiful eggs!

Why do you need all those extra vitamins and minerals?

The nutritionist from Fertrell said that the hens aren’t eating a diverse enough diet. They’re mainly being sustained on a handful of different grains. And because of generally depleted soils, the grains don’t have as much nutritional value compared to a hundred years ago.

It’s not enough, so the feed needs to be supplemented. If we didn’t supplement, hen health and egg production would go down a lot. And that means that our egg price would go up a lot.

The new feed supplier has this in mind and is considering adding other ingredients to the feed to increase its diversity. Here’s some of the ingredients being considered:

Cricket powder, black fly larvae, flaxseed, cod liver oil, dried herring, dried beets, dried pumpkin, dried cucumbers, dried broccoli, dried kale, sprouted sesame seeds, oregano, hemp seed oil, nutritional yeast, parsley, nettle, chlorella, and chaga mushroom.

The hope is that, by diversifying the ingredients, we can reduce the amount of supplemental vitamins in the feed.

Why do you need synthetic vitamins and supplements?

A majority of the supplements added to the current feed are natural. But, there are a few that are synthetic (DL Methionine amino acid and the B vitamins). The nutritionist from Fertrell said that they could make us a special nutri-balancer without the synthetic vitamins, but they wouldn’t stand behind it as a complete supplement. The birds wouldn’t maintain good health, and egg production would drop by 5-20%.

We will work to reduce synthetic supplements by diversifying the feed with natural ingredients. It will take time.

*Interesting fact: Poultry diets are the only diet in ā€œcertified organicā€ where synthetic amino acids are allowed.

Why are egg yolks yellow or orange?

The color of the yolk corresponds to the chemical compounds present in what the birds are eating.

When birds are pasture raised, they eat a variety of foraged foods like grasses, seeds, and bugs. In the warmer months, these foods naturally contain carotenoids (fat-soluble pigments) that make the yolks darker. But, when birds are primarily fed a diet of wheat, corn, and soy, their yolks are lighter in color.

Big ag has caught on to consumer demand for darker yolks, so they figured out how to add synthetic colors (chemicals like Rovimix Carophyll Yellow or Lucantin Red) or natural colors (like marigold or paprika) to make the yolks dark… even if the birds aren’t on pasture.

Is yolk color an indicator of a nutritious egg?

Because of added feed colorants (which is super common now), sadly a dark orange yolk no longer means a more nutritious egg.

Today, the only way to know how nutritious your eggs are is to know your farmer. Truly pastured eggs offer more nutrition (more vitamins, omega-3s, antioxidants, etc) because the birds are naturally healthier. That health is transferred to the egg and then to you.

Will you continue to add natural ingredients that make the yolks orange year round?

Yes and no.

Marigold and paprika have been removed and most likely won't be added. Although they add antioxidants and vitamin A, the only real reason they’re in the feed is for the yolk color.

Instead, we’re looking to feed fresh or dried greens to the birds year round (kale, chard, alfalfa etc). This not only is something that the birds love but it also adds quality natural nutrition. Greens also contain the same carotenoids in marigold and paprika that make the yolks darker.

Will the egg price change with the feed changes?

Yes. The new feed will be a higher quality and more natural. And, that costs more. Egg prices will go up this year. We're anticipating the increase to be around $1 per dozen, but we just don't know exactly how much yet.

Complete List of Current Egg Feed Ingredients

*updated 3/29/24

MAIN FEED INGREDIENTS

This makes up 90%+ of the feed. About 20% of the grains below are sourced from local chemical-free farms and about 80% come from certified organic farms that we don't personally know. All ingredients are GMO-free. 

  • Oats
  • Rolled wheat
  • Peas
  • Alfalfa hay leaves
  • Barley

SUPPLEMENTAL FEED INGREDIENTS

All supplements are certified for organic and GMO-free. There are no added oils or additives (like preservatives or anti-caking agents). The loooong lists below are exactly what's in them. There's a nutritional reason for each and every one.

  • Poultry Nutri-Balancer (from Fertrell): Monocalcium Phosphate, Organic Dehydrated Kelp Meal, Salt, DL Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite, Riboflavin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenic Acid, Niacin Supplement, Choline Chloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper
    Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Extract, Active Dry Yeast, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation product, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product.
  • Fishmeal (Fertrell's FERFISH): 100% whole sardine meal that is wild-caught off the coast of South America. The fishery has a sustainability certificate so they only harvest what they can take to sustainably keep the fish population going for the future. We used mixed tocopherols as the preservative (the only preservative allowed under Organic Regulations) and never use Ethoxyquin. The fish meal is used in the ration both as a great source of protein and amino acids, but also because it attracts the birds to their feed and actually helps them digest it better.
  • Sesame Meal (from Tipple M Farms): Ground sesame seeds
  • Aragonite: This is just ground aragonite rocks
  • York Calcium Chips: Limestone
  • Monocal Phos (from Fertrell): Monocalcium phosphate (which is phosphorous and calcium that has been chemically bonded together)
  • Spnutzym Nutri-Zyme (from Fertrell): Enzymes derived from lactic acid bacteria and ground limestone. The enzymes are grown on dairy but there's no dairy in the final product.
  • Goat Whey (raw from a local farmer): From local pasture raised goats.
  • Redmond Salt: Unrefined ancient sea salt from Salt Lake City, Utah which contains 60+ naturally-occurring trace minerals.

More from the blog

Here's the untold story of raw milk. Raw or pasteurized? It should be your choice.

*Originally published 5/20/22. Updated 5/27/25. Raw milk has been a highly contested issue in modern history.  Is it a healthy nutrient-dense ā€œcure-allā€ for nourishing your body, or is it a dangerous vector for spreading life-threatening disease? The two camps are split. It is a complicated issue with mixed battles of bad science vs. personal testimony, morals vs. politics, education vs. advertising, and big agri-business vs. small farms. Let's dive in... A Brief History of Raw Milk Nutrient-dense fresh raw milk has been a staple food for many cultures worldwide for a loooong time.  I mean, humans started drinking it thousands of years ago. It just made sense. It was a part of agriculture, but it looked a lot different then than it does today. In the beginning, a family or community would share a dairy cow. The cow would live outside and eat the pasture that was naturally present. Over time, farmers specializing in dairy became a thing. They would keep the cows, do the milking, and provide milk for the greater community. They would hand milk, cool it in fresh spring water, and transport it with horse-drawn carts. Raw milk was nourishing, providing moisture, protein, and nutrients. It would help people have food through cold winters. And the milk could be preserved into cheese for long trips and to build up food storage. This has never been a problem until recent history.  During the Industrial Revolution in the early 1800s, whisky and milk were the two most popular beverages. A cutthroat entrepreneur came up with the revolutionary idea to confine cows in a factory-like setting, make them stand still, and force feed them the hot grain byproduct from making whiskey, which is called "swill". Definitely not natural for a cow! This fresh raw milk was accessible to people in cities. Remember, cars weren't the norm then, so getting milk from farms outside the cities and keeping it cool was a major operation. This milk was also cheap to produce. I mean, the feed was a by-product that was basically free. Milk "farmed" like this was popular, but... Produced in these unclean and unnatural conditions, this blue-tinted ā€œswill milkā€ made many people sick and led to many deaths. This was a true public health issue, resulting in many infant deaths and a rise in life threatening illness.  This historical pinpoint is the origin of raw milk getting its bad reputation. Policy makers and businesses had two options: (1) Higher quality farming practices in city or rural dairies; or (2) Pushing infected products from unhealthy animals. Can you guess which choice big business made?  The swill milk industry chose to mask the symptoms of swill milk by using additives like plaster, chalk, sugar, eggs, starch, flour, and pigments. These ā€œbadā€ distillery dairies gave ā€œgoodā€ small clean dairies a bad name.  Eventually this truly horrid milk was busted for harboring deadly diseases. Pasteurization was presented as a cheap solution. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) was a scientist who promoted pasteurization as a way to make milk safe for consumption. Philanthropist Nathan Strauss (1848-1931), co-owner of Macy’s, jumped on the pasteurization bandwagon and created milk factories that sterilized diseased milk. He, along with other big dairy owners, used his wealth to influence government agencies and advertise pasteurized milk to the public, including scary fake news articles in popular magazines. Of course, there’s always the flip side: Better standards for clean raw milk production. The Certified Milk Movement was led by Dr. Henry Coit (1854-1917). Dr. Coit believed in milk as a necessary healthy food. He influenced and created the Medical Milk Commission and its standards to ensure production of clean, healthy raw milk from small farms.  However, this milk cost 4x more than the unclean kind. Given the advertising efforts of the pasteurized milk businesses, can you guess which milk the public latched onto? Yup, pasteurized milk. And the story goes on in a similar manner throughout the 1900s, with the two sides being divided and working against each other.  Big agri-business advertises and lobbies for pasteurized milk (Got Milk?), which can be produced more cheaply. Small farms and families fight for their right to choose what foods are healthy to consume.  Raw Milk Laws Today The biggest game changer for raw milk access happened in 1987. Ronald Reagan promoted the ban on interstate commerce of raw milk to the FDA, and it became law.  Goodbye, free market. This devastated (and continues to devastate) small farmers and the families that choose to consume raw milk.  The 35-year-old ban means that, even though a farm like ours can be legally certified by the State of Pennsylvania for raw milk production for humans, we can sell that milk in Pennsylvania only.  Raw milk for human consumption cannot be sold across state lines. Raw milk laws change state by state. You can view a real milk legal map here. For example, New Jersey’s laws do not allow raw dairy for humans at all. We cannot legally deliver raw milk for human consumption to NJ. However, a person from NJ can drive to PA, buy or pick up milk, and then drive back to their home and consume it. That’s perfectly legal.  Additionally, no US government recognizes fresh raw dairy products (cream, butter, yogurt, kefir, etc) as fit for human consumption in any capacity.  No US farm is permitted to sell these foods for human consumption (with some ā€œgray areaā€ exception for herd shares in some states). And I mean, it’s kind of ridiculous. If a state allows raw milk for humans. Why not cream? It’s the same thing! With the proper certifications and paperwork, raw dairy for pets is legal, even across state lines.  Miller’s Bio Farm believes in raw. That’s why we offer a huge selection of raw A2/A2 dairy for cats & dogs. Even if we can only sell it and support the health of your furry family members, we’ll do it. We believe that it’s a step, albeit small, in the right direction.  And gee, if we could get all of our raw dairy certified for humans, we sure would! It's important to note that raw cheese aged at least 60 days and under the right conditions is also legal across state lines. This law is based on scientific evidence showing that aging cheese for 60 days under proper conditions produces chemical activity in the cheese that kills harmful bacteria. Side Note: The cottage laws in Pennsylvania allow someone to get certified to prepare food in their home kitchen (beef jerky, cookies, jams, salsa, etc) and legally sell it across state lines. It makes me think: Is certified raw milk potentially more dangerous than this? The Future of Raw Milk Miller’s Bio Farm will continue to advocate for high quality, low risk raw dairy for humans. Here are 4 reasons why. 1. There are many proven health benefits.  2. The food landscape has changed. With the rise of eCommerce and delivery services, our food world is expanding. State by state laws don’t make as much sense anymore. 3. Modern technology allows us to produce an ultra low risk raw product. We have meticulous safety standards and test every batch of milk on site. You can learn more about our milk safety standards and view our test results here. We’re meeting the requirements for pasteurized dairy plus some. We follow these standards for both human and pet dairy products. 4. People who want raw dairy will get it no matter what. If raw milk is not legalized, then the government is ultimately supporting black market milk (just like marijuana, folks). Now, that’s really not good and could be potentially dangerous. Even if we cannot provide raw dairy products for everyone everywhere now, we have hope for a better food future. A future filled with honesty, transparency, safety, and choice. Yes, the two camps are split. But, perhaps both are in the right, depending on the situation. It is undoubtedly true that unpasteurized milk produced in unclean conditions can be very dangerous. However, it is also true that clean raw milk can be a completely safe and nutritious food choice, especially with modern refrigeration, transportation, and testing technology.  I would hope there is a way for both points of view to co-exist, to agree to disagree, and create policies that allow for basic human choice to consume what they view as healthy. Let’s put a little more perspective on it, too. Is food and raw dairy really that dangerous? The CDC estimates that there are about 3,000 deaths from food-borne illnesses every year. About 46% percent come from produce (mostly leafy greens), 22% from meat or poultry, and 14% from dairy.  From 1993-2006, there have been 3 deaths attributed to raw dairy. That's 0.23 deaths per year, which means raw dairy accounts for 0.008% of all deaths attributed to food-borne illnesses. There are 35,000+ deaths from automobile accidents every year. You tell me. What should be our biggest concern? What do you think? Would you change the raw milk laws? How? Has modern eCommerce, food delivery services, and safety technologies changed the food world, and should the laws change too? Why is raw milk still so vilified? I’d love to hear from you. Comment below (no account required) or contact us. If you are interested in learning more about raw milk history and laws, I recommend the very informative videos created by Nourishing Liberty or perusing the realmilk.com website. PS: Miller’s Bio Farm believes in raw. But, more than that, we believe in choice. That’s why we offer raw dairy as well as lightly pasteurized and minimally processed A2/A2 dairy. We make the best of both, and the choice is yours!

Warning: Fat Holds Toxins. Carnivore and keto folks should watch out.

Aaron, myself, and a couple other team members went to Tennessee to participate in Meatstock 2025 last weekend. It's a carnivore/keto party in the Smoky Mountains. Boy, we learned a lot and met a lot of wonderful people, both people who healed through food as well as doctors and experts that help people heal.  One person we had the pleasure of meeting was the amazing Dr. Kiltz. He's a carnivore. He's also a doctor who specializes in fertility. And can you guess how he helps many of his patients? Yup, through food. He's a big supporter of the carnivore and keto diets. He suggests getting 70-80% of your calories from fat, 15-30% from protein, and 0-10% from carbs. Dr. Kiltz spoke at a dinner we attended. And something he said shocked us -- "Don't worry about grass fed, regenerative, and all that natural stuff. It's the fact that you're eating fat that matters." šŸ˜³ Woah woah woah. Hold up a sec. We, of course, had a conversation with Dr. Kiltz about this.  I mean, why are people having health issues in the first place? Sure, some of it could be genetics. Some of it's definitely environmental. But, a lot of it is likely the food we're eating. It's processed food laden with seed oils and carbs and sugar and yucky additives... but also the farming practices that result in toxic stuff hidden in plain old ingredients. Dr. Kiltz agreed and elaborated on his statement. What he's saying is that, if you're eating a standard American diet, the biggest and fastest impact you can make comes from altering your diet on a macro level - fat, protein, and carbs. But the granular stuff you can't see or count matters too, especially once you're making progress. OK, I get it. But then I thought some more... Toxins accumulate in the fat. So, if you eat animal-based foods (especially the fattier ones) and are looking to limit (or eliminate) that awful toxic stuff, farming practices matter. Like a lot! So, unsurprisingly, I went into research mode. Here's what I learned. Which toxins accumulate in fat and why? Not all toxins accumulate in fat. Some are stored in bone, muscle, organs, etc. But, there are certain toxins that a body stores specifically in fat. They include: Dioxins and furans (PCDDs/PCDFs) - These are persistent pollutants, resistant to breakdown, that are generally creating by burning things like plastic and chemicals and garbage. They can also be created as byproducts of industrial processes.PCBs - That's short for polychlorinated biphenyls, which are synthetic chemicals that were used to make various consumer products, from paint to glues to lubricants to coolants to batteries. They were banned in 1979, but because of their inability to breakdown, they remain as toxins in our environment.Pesticides & Herbicides - This includes previously banned pesticides (like DDT) that are still present in our environment. This also includes pesticides used today, like organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides. Certain Toxic Heavy Metals - Mercury, lead, cadmium, and aluminum are known for accumulating in fat. The reason the above toxins collect specifically fat (AKA adipose tissue) is because they are lipophilic. Liophilic is when a substance is "fat loving" and can bond with or dissolve in fat.  Other toxins are hydrophilic, meaning they are "water loving" and can bond with and dissolve in water. These include bentazone, glyphosate, imidacloprid, flouride, and arsenic. They do not accumulate in fat. What can an overload of toxins do to your body? I like to think about toxic overload like a cup. Our bodies can process a little of it. But, when the cup is overfilled with stuff like pesticides, toxic heavy metals, mold, carcinogens, etc, that's when problems happen.  Our bodies are pretty good at handling stress. That's why toxic overload can be confusing. It may take a long time - months, years, or decades - for the problem to arise. Then, once the problem happens, it's hard to pinpoint the cause. And then, healing time is often lengthy (and sometimes the damage can't completely be undone).  When it comes to toxins, the response really depends on the body. The list of issues that can arise is exhaustive. They include fatigue, headaches, digestive problems and leaky gut, brain fog, anxiety and depression, increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, hormone imbalance, mast cell overreaction, histamine responses, bloating and inflammation, trouble sleeping, skin conditions, liver damage, obesity, and more. Where can toxins in animal-based foods come from? When it comes to farming, there are few places that toxins can be introduced to animals. This can be from toxins resistant to breaking down from decades ago or toxins being used or produced today. This can be on the actual farms or in the facilities that prepare food for sale: Air: Toxins can vaporize and float in the air. Animals can breathe it in or it can settle on top of soil or water. Water: This is especially true with city water, which often has chemicals added to it or may run through old pipes. But, as we all know, water pollution varies from area to area.Soil: This can come from the local area or a non-farming activity that happened on the land previously. This can also be from past farming practices or current ones. Slaughter and butchering: Did you know an antimicrobial is required by the USDA when processing meat? Processors can choose harsh chemicals like bleach or opt for more natural ones like citric or lactic acids or vinegar.Recipes: Think beef jerky or lunchmeat. They have ingredients. First off, anything that's less than 1% doesn't need to be listed on the package. And then, of course, there's the hidden stuff depending on the quality of the ingredient.Packaging: Even what our food comes in can leach chemicals into our food. I mean, think about microplastics in bottled water! When toxins enter your food, you can't see them. You can't taste them. You can't smell them. This is why knowing more about how your food is produced is important. How can farming practices decrease the levels of toxins? Well, there are bunch of ways toxins can get into food from farming. Here are some ways that farms can decrease toxins in the final food: Choose A Clean Location: If a farm is located right next to or downstream from a factory or city, toxin levels will likely increase. Farms should ideally be far from cities or factories. Have Clean Water: If contamination is persistent in your area, you'll likely know it. And, you can always test the water, too.Improve Soil Health With Regenerative Farming: When soil is dead and unhealthy, toxins break down at their normal speed. But, with regenerative farming that creates robust microbiology, toxins can break down faster.Fertilize Naturally: There are plenty of chemical fertilizers out there. But, compost and manure from natural chemical-free sources are just as good… if not better.Limit, Eliminate, Be Considerate With Pesticide And Herbicide Use: A grand majority of farms still use pesticides and herbicides regularly. Yeesh. Even the organic ones can contain yucky stuff. With things like fruit, it's kinda necessary to some extent. But, especially with pasture raised animals, they're simply not needed (even though some farms still choose it).Choose Naturally Formulated Feed: This is the idea of the ingredients in the ingredients. You can have the most pristine land, air, and water, raising beef. But, if you feed them GMO corn sprayed with glyphosate and grown in contaminated soil... well... those toxins are introduced. Farms can make sure they're feed ingredients are pure and the sources the ingredients come from are chemical-free.Eliminate Vaccines: Yup, vaccines contain toxins. And especially when injected, they can harbor themselves in fat. Aluminum is a common ingredient in vaccines. And, did you know that animal vaccines can contain Thimerosal (AKA mercury)? That's been banned in human vaccines. When animals are raised outdoors and to be naturally happy and healthy, vaccines aren't necessary.Be Mindful With Anyone Who Processes Your Food: This can be a challenge, especially if you're in an area with more conventional farms. Farms can ask the hard questions and ask for changes like what antimicrobials are used (apple cider vinegar is allowed by the USDA), what the ingredients are, and where the ingredients are sourced from. At Miller's Bio Farm, we try to reduce your toxic intake as much as possible. Here's a few notable things we do (among the many): All of our small farms are 60+ miles from any major city.Our pastures are never sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. We love the biodiversity!Our pastures are fertilized with manure and more manure!Our farms that raise our animals regenerate their soil year after year. The idea is to improve the quality of the soil, and that includes the microbes that can help break down toxins.Clean well water is used for the animals to drink and for processing our meat and all of our products. Our beef, pork, and lamb are washed with organic apple cider vinegar. Our chicken is air chilled. Our turkey is washed with water and only water.None of our animals are fed corn or soy. And, our feed is chemical-free.Our farmers do not vaccinate their animals. Our chicken and turkey and lamb is 100% vaccine free. The only way a vaccine could be given to a cow or pig is if the animal was bought in and previously vaccinated. We make sure that no animal has received an mRNA vaccine. None of our products have yucky stuff like nitrates/nitrites, additives, fillers, etc. It's simple natural food. We always vet our processors before working with them to make sure they're up to our natural standards. We'd love to supply you with clean foods and hope you join the movement! Do you eat a lot of fat? Whether you do or not, what toxins make you most worried? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us šŸ˜Š ----- References: Carnivore Diet Macros and How to Achieve ThemAdipose Tissue as a Site of Toxin Accumulation Pesticide residues in animal-derived food: Current state and perspectives Impact of pesticide exposure on adipose tissue development and function10 Powerful Nutrients Found Only in Meat

Does varying yolk color affect the flavor of honest eggs?

As you know, we don't add any color to our feed. This is why our pastured corn & soy free eggs are called "honest yolk eggs". "Color" includes unnatural stuff like dyes as well as natural stuff like marigold and paprika. Nearly all egg farmers nowadays do this... even the natural ones. Why? People demand consistent color yolks, thinking it means a certain quality. Little do most know, yolk color is superficial now. At Miller's, we know this for a fact. Curiosity made us to send our eggs for testing, and there was zero nutritional difference in our orange vs yellow yolk eggs. What mattered most was the farming practices and quality of the feed, and our eggs came out on top for most tests. We really love having varying yolk color. It's an indicator of what the birds are eating.  It tells our farmers how their pasture is doing. If the plants are too mature, not diverse enough, it's too wet or dry, or if chickens aren't eating the pasture, we'll see that with the yolk color! Now, we've had an array of responses since we removed the color from our feed. One baffling one is --- the light colored yolks don't taste as good as the dark colored yolks. Is this true? I mean, removing the color is only a superficial change. It shouldn't affect the flavor. Well, we needed to find out. So... we did a blind tasting on the farm a few weeks ago. Here's what that looked like: The results? The whole team agreed -- all eggs tasted the same! The biggest factor affecting egg flavor was the yolk to white ratio. The more yolk, the more flavor.  It's spring, and our hens are out on pasture 100% of the time. An egg develops for about 6 weeks inside a chicken, so it takes some time. But... you should start to see darker yolks now. Have you noticed a change in yolk color? Have you noticed a flavor change? Would you prefer consistent colored yolks or honest yolks? I'd love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us 😊 PS: The egg shortage is 100% over, and we have plenty of eggs now!! That means egg bundles are back!