Hard Boiled Egg Question

[ChickenWendy]

Maybe it's me but my brown eggs taste gross when we hard boil them. they have a really funky odor that makes it impossible to eat. And these are eggs that are not older then 2 days. if i use them to scramble or in recipes it's fine. My chickens have only been laying since March 21st. And only 2 of them are laying. I think it's my buff orpington and one of my Rhode Island Reds. The eggs are still small also.
Is this normal?? They are on commercial laying feed & they free range & they get scratch about once a week.

 

[speckledhen]

First, how long do you boil them? Could be you're boiling them too long? Boiled eggs always have a boiled egg smell, so I'm not sure what exactly you mean by an odor. This may help some:

http://www.wikihow.com/Hard-Boil-an-Egg

 

[ChickenWendy]

i will thoroughly read that post you sent and hope it helps but I have been boiling eggs for years and never had this problem. i was quite disappointed as one of the reasons of having a backyard flock was to get eggs. and my family loves hardboiled eggs.
we will see.
but i cant describe the smell. have you ever had fish that had a fishy smell and taste to it? (pun intended) well it's like that. it has a chicken odor to it.
and we arent a squimish family at all. we eat venison all the time and the kids love it. so i dont know.

 

[speckledhen]

I can't imagine. I know they get that sulfurous, gassy smell when you boil them a long time, but wish I had an answer for you. If it was something they were eating, you'd taste it in other types of cooked eggs than boiled, as well. It should have nothing to do with the color of the egg. We only have brown egglayers here and often boil the eggs; never have that problem.

 

[ChickenWendy]

maybe it is the sulfur we are smelling. i will try the the suggestions that were made on that site you sent.

i just thought because it was their first eggs and they are still smaller then i thought they would be. like bantam eggs. oh well.
i am going to keep trying.

thanks.

by the way, i LOVE the descriptions we all have now.

 

[speckledhen]

Glad you're having fun with the new titles!

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

I've noticed the same thing - I made egg salad and it definitely smelled much more like sulfur than grocery store eggs. Probably because fresh eggs actually have a TASTE! But I honestly don't care for it. Fine scrambled, fried, and even hard boiled and pickled with beets, but don't like them hard boiled by themselves. Glad it's not just me...

 

[speckledhen]

Just don't boil them longer than about 10 minutes. I've not had a problem with the smell. Hmm, odd.

 

[hoosier]

I bring the water to the boil then turn the heat off and let them set for 10-20 minutes. I haven't noticed any odor.

 

[hooligan]

These are the instructions I follow for my eggs when I make them deviled for the bf:
To boil eggs, place eggs in enough cold water to cover completely, bring to a rolling boil over high heat.

Reduce heat to a lower MEDIUM BOIL and cook an additional 12 minutes.
Promptly chill eggs in ICE WATER until chilled so yolks stay bright yellow...keep adding ice as necessary....rapid chilling helps prevent the "greenish" ring to appear around the yolk.