Fishy smelling egg.

[Akane]

Anything high in omega fatty acids (fish and nuts including flaxseed are the usual cause) can make a fishy taste but dunno about smell. Usually if an egg is bad the yolk won't remain intact. When you break the egg it will be as runny if not more so than the white. This happens even before I notice a smell or anything else off with the egg. Oyster shell is all minerals and would not effect taste. They'd have to eat actual fresh oysters to have a chance of doing anything.

How long an egg is good outside depends on the temperature. If it's over 100F out not that long. I'd toss any eggs that sat more than 12hours like that. If it's 60F out then weeks provided no one sits on them or poops on them. They can sit on your counter for weeks so long as you air condition your house at all in the summer and still be perfectly fine. In the fridge eggs can still be good 6months later but the taste will start to change. I try to clear out the extra eggs every 2-4months and give them away free to people.

 

[flymamma]

I was putting cod liver oil in my girl's yogurt ... then got eggs that smelled like fish for the next few days . So I have switched to shredded carrots in the yogurt for vitamin A .

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

I was really depressed when I ate my first pullet egg from my new hens. I had only in the past ate store eggs. I was excited about all the hoopla over back yard eggs. I tell you it was so awful I couldn't eat it. I did not eat any of my eggs for weeks. Then I tried one a month later and it was delicious. The only thing I know we changed was the brand of layer food and they now free range some. I don't know, she may have ate something that gave her eggs a bad fishy/sulfur taste. Now I eat an egg almost every day. They are delicious. I haven't come across anymore funny tasting eggs since and I now know what all the hoopla was about. Smell first, if it doesn't smell good, it won't taste good. Try another.

 

[Judy]

Does your feed contain fish meal? Maybe the feed mill overdid it or used some bad fish?

 

[whitecra]

Chicken'n'bees :

I definitely didn't eat the smelly one. We only have 5 hens that are laying, so I don't think that we missed this egg from another day. They eat feed and then I give them vegetable and fruit scraps, yogurt about 2 times a week. They free roam the yard in the evenings, so I don't know what they might have eaten then.

I will be checking and smelling every one from now on.

So, do some only gather their eggs once a day? If so, is it ok to eat an egg that was laid in the morning and not collected until the evening?

I love getting your advice, I go here first for answers!

I only collect once a day/
chris​

 

[sixchicks]

I'm beginning to think it may be my water that it is causing my fresh eggs to have a slight fishy smell when cooked. We have a well and the water is super high in iron....causes everything to turn red from residue. Because of that our water to the house is treated with salt and chlorine but the water I give the animals is not treated. It's my only guess as I collect my eggs constantly and use them right away. Maybe this will help?

 

[DeniseVasecka]

I recently got 2 little frizzles and when I got them they were being treated for leg mites with Ivermectin. I was told not to eat their eggs for 2-4 weeks after their last treatment, and to be safe, I waited 6 weeks. When I cracked the first of their eggs I got a whiff of fish, but added it to my scrambled eggs, thinking it would fry off! Nope, made my whole scrambled fishy smelling & tasting. YUK! So, because I have many Cochin layers and I cannot tell who lays which eggs, I crack each one in a small bowl before adding it to the big bowl!

I don't mind doing this, but I truly don't want this to become a serious problem with my little frizzles (Shorty & Odd Job!) They are so sweet and friendly (especially Shorty!) PLEASE, can someone help me?



Oh, PS: They don't get near my Koi pond, their ratio of oyster shell is minimal, and most of the rest of the ideas I've read on this tread they are not exposed to. I am highly suspect of where I rescued them from, but hesitate to confront, as she was an elderly lady and I don't think she would have a clue! I am looking to this forum, as I get most info from all You!!!

Thank you.

 

[Pele]

Hiya chicken-buddy! I'm glad I noticed your thread, because I've been doing some digging on this subject since you told me about it.

From what I understand, fish odor primarily comes from something they are eating (you are collecting more often than I do, so it's not age or heat). Something that your birds are getting ahold of is high in Omega3.

I remember you said you feed them peanuts in the mornings, I know those are high in Omega 3 and 6. You might also want to check the ingredients in your feed, as soy and flax are also high in this fat.

It could be that the lady you got the two frizzles from wasn't feeding them properly, and their bodies arn't used to processing these items. At any rate, you can also add parsley to their diets to counteract the smell.

I hope you can get it resolved soon. Maybe I can come over this weekend to help you out .

 

[anjaneep]

i have a feirtle chicken egg and its in the incubatre and i smelled it and it kinda smelled like a fart

i hope it will still hatch and i thought it was just from the musst of the humidity iv had that egg for 18 days

 

[Easterflower]

I had this problem too, always with one hen's eggs. We only have 6 layers, and gather daily, so I knew spoilage wasn't the issue. In another forum, it's suggested that soy and some other high-protein ingredients, can metabolize in some hens in a way that creates a fishy smelling egg. Once I read this, it made sense. I recently switched from a "no soy" formula, to a generic layer formula, with soy. I'm going to switch back to the no soy, and hope it resolves the fishy stink.