6 hens lay eggs with green yolks in Kerala; scientists begin looking for reason
After six hens in a small poultry farm in Kerela laid eggs with green yolk, social media went berserk with the photos of this bizarre phenomenon. The incident happened in the poultry farm of A K Shihabudheen, a native of Othukkungal in Malappuram in Kerala.
After the photos of the eggs went viral, people from different parts of the country and even abroad began contacting Shihabudheen to know more about the phenomenon. Recently, scientists from the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) launched a study on the special hens and the eggs, as reported by The New India Express.
Around nine months ago, Shihabudheen found that an egg laid by one of his hens had a green yolk. Neither he nor his family consumed it since they wondered if it would be safe. Instead, he hatched some of the eggs laid by the hen. Interestingly, the new hens also started laying green eggs.
"When we found that we could hatch chickens from these eggs, we began consuming the green eggs. The news of this egg phenomenon spread after I shared some pictures on social media a couple of weeks ago," said Shihabudheen.
According to The New Indian Express, the eggs with green yolks taste exactly like the normal ones. He now plans to hatch more such hens and eggs for sales.
"Many have approached me for green eggs. But, now, I'm keeping them for hatching. The eggs will be sold after the scientists of the Mannuthy KVASU complete their study on the phenomenon. The scientists are of the view that some special feed consumed by the hens might be the reason behind them laying eggs with green yolks. However, I did not give any special feed to these hens," he said.
Harikrishnan S, assistant professor at the university, said they need three more weeks to identify the reason behind the phenomenon. "Some earlier researchers say it is possible to change the colour of the yolk by providing the hens with some special feeds. We are looking into that possibility," he said.
Harikrishnan and his team will give normal chicken feed developed at the university to the two chickens from Shihabudheen's farm.
"We will observe the hens at the university. After three weeks, if the hens lay white eggs, we can confirm that the hens were eating something special at the farm. If the hens lay green eggs even after the three weeks, we will have to do more studies to find out the exact reason behind the phenomenon," he said.
