Can chicken eggs get healthier omega-3s by changing what hens eat?

Feeding laying hens a diet containing 3.0–4.5% Sacha Inchi oil for 56 days results in egg yolks with omega-3 fatty acid levels rising from 0.8% to over 9.1% and the n-6/n-3 ratio dropping by about nine times, while egg production and most quality measures remain unchanged.

Feeding laying hens Sacha Inchi oil at 3.0–4.5% of their diet reduces their daily feed intake by 10–15% over 56 days, with no change in body weight or how efficiently they produce eggs.

Adding Sacha Inchi oil to the feed of laying hens at a concentration of 3.0–4.5% for 56 days increases the proportion of yolk in the egg by 10–12%, without changing the total egg weight, shell thickness, internal egg quality, or yolk color.

Adding Sacha Inchi oil to chicken feed lowers the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in egg yolks from about 27 to under 3.0, making the fatty acid composition more similar to the recommended human health target of 1:1.

Adding Sacha Inchi oil to the diet of laying hens at concentrations of 1.5–4.5% does not change how many eggs they lay, their body weight, or the thickness of their eggshells, the internal quality of the egg white, or the color of the yolk over 56 days.