Pigments in the diet affect yolk colors. Due to variations in both the bioavailability of pigments in chickens and their amounts occurring in the feed ingredients, concern about egg quality arises in terms of yolk color. In this study, the effects of pigments, produced through cell culture in the laboratory, on yolk colors were determined for 4 weeks in laying hens receiving one of the 6 dietary treatments: control diets containing 1) no synthetic pigments (CON); 2) canthaxanthin (4 ppm) purchased from BASF (BASF); 3) cultured cells so that the diet had canthaxanthin at 4 ppm (CX); 4) cultured cells so that the diet had lycopene at 30 ppm (LP); 5) canthaxanthin (4 ppm) that was purified from cultured cells (SPCX); or 6) lycopene (30 ppm) that was purified from cultured cells. Relation between deposition of pigments into yolks and egg production was also tested. Yolk color of eggs from chickens fed dietary CX was significantly enhanced, which was slightly but significantly below that of BASF. Results from other treatments were lower than those of CX. Deposit rates of pigments into yolks were: BASF > CX > SPCX > LP > SPLP. The amounts of pigments, with the exception of SPLP, in feed were not changed during the storage for 4 weeks at $25^{circ}C$. Egg production rates varied among treatments during the initial phase of the study but became relatively uniform at the later stage, except for CON and LP groups. The results of the present study indicate that the deposition of pigments into yolks is independent of egg production.