Might just be low omega 3s and other proteins. Certain foods like dark leafy greens and grains can promote the thicker darker yellow/orange yolks. Free ranging is only as good as the forage, and what base feed is provided.
Look at the range of colors! Crazy!
I edited the title so folks can post pics and descriptions of their coops, as some already have. I’m looking for some ideas, and really appreciate the posts so far. So, let’s see those cackle barns!
Nice. All your birds have some sweet cribs. How many ducks do you have, and how do duck eggs taste, are they more gamey tasting than chickens?
I’ve heard that some egg companies inject food coloring into the yolks to give their hot house eggs richer looking color.
We have 7 ducks. I find the taste bolder but good - compare pot roast to a prime rib.
Sadly, I cannot digest them though. Should have looked into that before we got them. My husband and a few of our friends can digest them, so they get eaten by ppl and the rest (a lot, all 7 lay daily from april - oct) i freeze and feed back to the birds over the winter. Protein and natural version of poultry balancer.
Duck eggs are great for baking. Baked goods i can eat.
We gave 6 indian runners and one swedish blue. Our 3 pekins passed away young, as they tend to. Indian runners are like hyper little bowling pins with legs.
Would not be surprised to hear about dyes at all, injected or fed.
Any idea of what breeds you want?
Our easiest and hardiest have been black austrolorps and black jersey giants. Rhode island reds are fiesty and sweet but too many reproductive problems. We have pencilled rocks, beautiful but dumb as stumps. Would NOT recommend speckled sussex for any free ranging. We have struggled to keep them on property; one spent this summer feral and only just came back, her sister is still on the loose.
Black sumatra chicks never made it past week 2, far too delicate.
My beautiful alpha, Belle
What breed chicks are you considering Subdood?
Based on what I’ve gathered in discussions on the forum, Australorps, Orpingtoms, and Barred Rocks are probably the ones we’re looking at, but it’s still early. We’re probably not going to have more than a dozen birds.
Wife has said no-go with Leghorns (legerns as they’re pronounced here), because of a harrowing encounter as a youngster with a Leghorn rooster…
I’ve raised a good number of chickens, including all three of the breeds that you mentioned. I especially liked my Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks. But nowadays I am on the bantam bandwagon. Yes, the eggs are small, and the production isn’t going to win any awards, but for personality, Mille Fleurs (my absolute favorite breed) and Japanese Bantams can’t be beat.
The pic is of two Mille Fleur pullets with a standard Polish rooster.
All good choices 
. We avoided leghorns just because their output is so high more health issues can happen. Considering a rooster? From what i hear jersey giants and buckeyes are some of the best. We were close to getting a buckeye boy, just have too much going on right now
Beautiful birds. I’m starting to be inclined towards lower production hens, having dealt with fatal internal laying issues this last year - rhode island reds.
too bad about the leghorns. they are easily my best layers out of them, r.i reds, orphingtons, australorps , easter eggers and copper marans. nervous bird though and flighty. great if you free range. i have 2 coops. my main one is 12’ x 12’. the other is a 8’x 8’ repurposed kids playhouse. have a easter egger roo in one and a r.i red roo in the other. some people say you dont need a rooster but i find they help keep the peace amongst the hens. awhile back someone gave us 6 hens. they had been kept in a coop that was way too small and they had pecking and fighting issues. i put them in my small coop and put my e.e roo in there. he put down every hen that started something. in less than a week there was harmony again. sadly they never laid for me so i had to cull them.
1st. ive ever heard of this. my father always raised r.i reds and had no issues. so far i havent had issues from mine. sometimes a breed hasent been refreshed from different blood lines and have developed problems like this. where did you get your r.i from? i try to source my birds from different nurseries to avoid this. its more likely with the bigger nurseries.
Yeah the egg laying issues have kept me away from leghorns as well. I wouldn’t mind getting some heritage bred ones that aren’t for production, but the 2 from my 2016 flock died of internal laying in 2017 and 2019. Some other birds have eventually come down with peritonitis at older ages, but it’s a terrible way to see them go. We still have 3/10 of the 2016 girls (2 easter eggers and a NH red) and 5/8 of our 2017 group (2 australorps, 2 cream legbars, and a lavender orpington).
again, i have leghorns from 2 different nurseries, for 4 years now and had 0 issues with them laying. i had a orphington that got egg bound put recovered. that’s it for laying problems out of 46 birds in the last 7 years. mites are a issue if i dont keep up on the spraying when i muck the coop.
I’ll make an offer if you want them. I’m about to cull several young chickens from my breeding line. I have several gorgeous golden laced pullets that have to go. Most should lay blue eggs. I usually give them away. You would either have to drive part way here to get them or I could ship them to you. Message if interested.
My poultry guy sources them from a small hatchery in PA i believe. Those high production reds are so popular im sure the overall genetics are of little importance. Heritage reds are much hardier i’m sure.
Im glad you haven’t had the reproductive issues. Sad way for them to go or have to put them down for.
Agreed that internal laying/peritonitis just sucks. They get sick in their prime and can certainly suffer. Very little chance to fix it once the oviduct is full of gunk 
is it they are dying from being egg bound? ive heard of the hybrids like iso browns being shot for laying in 2 years. why i avoid them and go with standard breeds. some of my leghorns are 4 years old and have barely slowed down from their younger years. why i kept them. i let them naturally stop laying over winter. maybe that’s why they are still productive. they also are laying huge eggs compared to 1 to 2 year olds. bigger than store jumbos.
