Bitter yolks?

[StarKat]

We have one chicken who was our first to start laying at the end of last month who has had perfect eggs (shockingly) and they taste normal.

But then the two newest layers who started with some funky thin shelled eggs that kept breaking at first, who finally started laying hard shells, have disgustingly bitter egg yolks. Is this bitter taste a thing that just, happens in some newer layers? Or is this not normal? Trying to look it up just gets me stuff about rotten eggs, but these are brought inside as soon as layed...And the whites taste fine. Just the yolks are awful.

None of our chickens free range so these two eat the same things as the one who has normal tasting eggs. We recently have been giving them frozen strawberries as a treat, could that cause the yolks to taste bitter? The chicken laying normal tasting eggs doesn't eat as much of them as the others so I sort of wonder if that is the issue. And I know their feed is fine and nothing is funky about it.

The only other treats they have had this week are some peas and grapes but that was also days ago.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Fresh fruit and veggies can alter the taste of the eggs but not usually in a bad way.
Soft shelled eggs can be normal in new layers until their cycle becomes more regular.
Are they otherwise acting normal? Pooping, eating, walking, etc?
I have never had a bitter tasting yolk but much of flavor comes from diet. You haven't mentioned anything that dounds like it would cause a bad flavor.

 

[aart]

Are all birds the same breed?
I'd cut out all 'treat's for a few weeks and see if that makes a difference.

 

[StarKat]

Fresh fruit and veggies can alter the taste of the eggs but not usually in a bad way.
Soft shelled eggs can be normal in new layers until their cycle becomes more regular.
Are they otherwise acting normal? Pooping, eating, walking, etc?
I have never had a bitter tasting yolk but much of flavor comes from diet. You haven't mentioned anything that dounds like it would cause a bad flavor.

Ye, they all act fine. Running around, dust bathing, eating fine, all that. Though the temps are in the 90s rn so they are kinda hot in the day- Plenty of shade though. And that was actually the reason for the frozen treats, to help them stay cooler.

Are all birds the same breed?
I'd cut out all 'treat's for a few weeks and see if that makes a difference.

The one with the normal tasting eggs is a cuckoo marans (the mixed variety without feather legs)
The two with bitter tasting yolks are a black sex link and...the other I'll just call her a mutt of some sort.

I'll try to lay off the treats to see if that helps the bitter taste issue though. They also get a frozen water bottle in their water container so frozen strawberries aren't the only thing they were getting to stay cool, they might be sad to see less fruits though lol.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I give mine watermelon, cherries, garden scraps, table scraps, feed, plus whatever they forage in the woods snd fields. Never had bitter yolks.

Found some things onlinele reference certain vitamins can cause a bitter flavor olif in substantial amounts but i don't think that is the case here.

 

[StarKat]

So to update, oddly it turns out only those two eggs were bitter, and after thinking both were layed the same day (and a day or two after the grapes were eaten), which means the guilty party was either the green grapes somehow, or some mystery source that might have ended up in the run...Though thinking more, we do have a lot of toads around and I know those have poison glands which I hear is bitter tasting (I don't want to find out lmao), I hope they didn't secretly slaughter a toad. Though I also have no idea if eating a toad would make an egg bitter, but green grapes or a toad is my only guess now. 100% was not the strawberries though.

 

[aart]

oddly it turns out only those two eggs were bitter,

Well, that's good news!
Some things can never be understood.

 

[Katanahamon]

We have one chicken who was our first to start laying at the end of last month who has had perfect eggs (shockingly) and they taste normal.

But then the two newest layers who started with some funky thin shelled eggs that kept breaking at first, who finally started laying hard shells, have disgustingly bitter egg yolks. Is this bitter taste a thing that just, happens in some newer layers? Or is this not normal? Trying to look it up just gets me stuff about rotten eggs, but these are brought inside as soon as layed...And the whites taste fine. Just the yolks are awful.

None of our chickens free range so these two eat the same things as the one who has normal tasting eggs. We recently have been giving them frozen strawberries as a treat, could that cause the yolks to taste bitter? The chicken laying normal tasting eggs doesn't eat as much of them as the others so I sort of wonder if that is the issue. And I know their feed is fine and nothing is funky about it.

The only other treats they have had this week are some peas and grapes but that was also days ago.

Do you know the chemistry of your water? Did they get some funky water? High iron water can interfere with nutrient absorption..guess this is old, though..I do have several articles that are great about yolk color and nutrition..
https://www.newworlder.com/dan-barber-feeds-his-chickens-red-peppers-to-make-red-eggs/

https://crystalcreeknatural.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Egg-Yolk-Color-And-How-To-Manage-It.pdf

https://www.veterinariadigital.com/en/articulos/the-egg-yolk-color-and-pigments/

 

[Good Dirt]

We have an Easter Egger who lays bitter eggs. I had noticed it last year and then forgot about it until I made an omelette with just her blue-green eggs this spring. I couldn’t eat it. Our Buff Orpington who she pals around with eats pretty much the same things and lays normal-tasting eggs.

 

[whatsthequestion]

I have a bantam that has bitter yolks (tastes like bile). She eats the same diet as the rest of the flock. The eggs have hard shells and are clean. They didnt always taste this way. I can't eat her eggs. They make me feel nauseated. I have wondered if there is a grass or bug she is eating that the rest don't or if she is metabolizing her food differently. Perhaps an underlying health issue though she looks amd acts healthy.