Originally Posted by bocastephen

I thought it was from beta-cartone, such as kale and other green leafy vegetables and seeds. I found local California "Japanese" branded eggs targeted to the Japanese supermarkets, at a premium price, but when I tested a few, the yolks were yellow. Very disappointing and a total waste of money.

The farm eggs I started buying seem a little closer to ideal, but they still vary - some yolks are dark orange and some are still yellow, it seems some of the chickens are not cooperating with my plan.

My neighbors own a large chicken farm up in the IE - I am tempted to chat with them about subcontracting some of their chickens into an open pasture setup where I will supply high beta carotene foods trying to emulate the typical Japanese egg feed mix, and see what happens. If they turn out the way I want, I might actually have a niche product I could start marketing to the Japanese supermarkets and Whole Foods, at least in certain areas where there is demand for that type of egg. I think they would also do well with bakeries that need a richer, denser yolk product.