Egg Composition

Last winter I was contacted by Mount Academy in Esopus, NY, asking if I would be able to come and speak to the FFA students about poultry nutrition.  I gladly went and visited them (as well as some other customers along the way) to see what they were doing and answer any questions they might have.

The students were interested in conducting a research project utilizing the small flock of layers they maintained.  We talked about commercial soy and corn diets and how they compared to corn free soy free diets and why producers might feed an alternative ration.  They were curious about the effects of these different diets on the fatty acid profile on egg yolks. I encouraged them to reach out to Stone House Grains (a local Fertrell feed mill) about using their services for the corn free soy free ration.

From there, the research project was developed and conducted.  Over the next couple of months, the FFA advisor kept me informed on the progress of the research and eventually the results. The students wrote a paper detailing their findings and presented at the NYS FFA Convention in May, where they placed first and were eligible to enter their research at the National FFA Convention Agriscience Fair being held in October 2024. After conducting an interview with the panel, the students placed 8th in the nation for their research project!

So, what did the research conclude? The students found that eggs from the birds fed a corn free soy free diet had a 35% reduction in omega 6 fatty acids and an increase of 28% in omega 3 fatty acids in the yolk. This resulted in an overall decrease in the omega 6/3 ratio.  More research needs to be done to clearly see the link on different grains in the ration and the effect on yolk composition.  However, this does support the idea that components of the bird’s diet can be incorporated into their eggs.