Eggs smell (and taste!) like fish!!!

[Cathy in the Catskills]

I'm sooo discouraged....raised 6 chicks from April 17th.... all was well! Began laying, etc... tons of eggs...selling them, too! Now....the eggs smell (and taste) like fish! They free range...we live in upstate NY.... bought a bag of cheap food...threw it out and went back to the good stuff.... HELP! IF it is the cheap food, how long will it take to "work out " of their system? What else could it be?

 

[beakkeeper]

Well, the obvious would be if you FED them fish meal? or maybe some seafood? I don't think it could be the stuff you bought. Probably 2-3 days for it to go back to normal.

 

[eggchel]

Do you use kelp or fish meal anywhere in your garden?

 

[flakey chick]

Is it the eggs, or perhaps how you cook them? Our cast iron skillet was used to fry fish over a campfire. Now if I get it to hot, it definately smells like fish.

 

[Cathy in the Catskills]

I have never fed them fish meal and I don't use it in my garden, etc. and I have never fed them fish! Ever.. It is definately NOT my pan.... I don't fry fish at all... Perhaps the cheaper brand of chicken food had it in there as a filler?

 

[HennysMom]

free range huh? gonna go out on a limb here - but... do you think maybe they got into some wild onions or something? Trash? Know you're in the Catskills but - I still have weird onion things growing even in the cold now here in VA in the grass and the girls free range

I'm constantly shooing them away and watching for it. Also - they run over to my trash can area and if my kids empty the trash or something gets into it (like a cat grrr) and tears the bag - the girls have found "old meat" scraps and I've had to chase them down and grab it out of their beaks so they wouldnt eat it!

Its perplexing though - fish huh? Do you have cats? Maybe its cat food they're getting into? Neighbors with cats?

 

[EllyMae]

I think I read somewhere that flax seed will make eggs taste fishy. Do you feed them flax seed?

 

[Cathy in the Catskills]

No cat food..... and even if they did have wild onions..it wouldn't smell (and taste) like fish, I'm sure........

 

[Cathy in the Catskills]

Yes! I read that too....about flaxseed. I sure don't have any laying around...and I sure didn't feed it to them..... I do wonder if that was in the food they were getting before?? However, there is nothing on the bag........ I REALLY hope this passes....

 

[HennysMom]

I dont know if they will or not but certain things can change the taste and smell of eggs ...

I hope you figure it out soon... I'm sure its very discouraging for you.