Strange tasting eggs!!

[truechick]

They don't really get much table scraps{I have teenagers} and I only give them a quart of scratch for 30 hens.
I'm starting to lean toward the some plant that is growing right now therory.

 

[Krys109uk]

Fishy tasting/smelling eggs is a genetic trait.

I don't remember whether it is a dominant or recessive trait....I can look it up tomorrow if you want to know.

 

[truechick]

I think I'm going to wait and see if this clears up on it's own. If it is a genitic thing I'm going to have trouble figuring out who it is!

 

[Kim_NC]

Quote:
If you put the cage inside their regular coop, they won't feel 'moved' and should continue to lay without interuption.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Another thought. Egg shells are porous. Are you storing them next to something in the fridge that would give them the smell? I still think the wild onions are the best bet, but just throwing out ideas.

 

[silentrunning]

Some feed companies buy their processed protien from China. I know that many dogs have died because of tainted Chinese ingredients. I would get a different feed from a different manufacturer and try it before I opened that second bag you have on hand. If the problem persists, then you can eliminate the food as a possible cause.

Doug

 

[Krys109uk]

I've just looked it up in Poultry Breeding & Genetics (Crawford).

Apparently it is a highly heritable, incompletely dominant autosomal genetic trait which is very much influenced by diet. The presence of rapeseed (though it might have another name in US) in the diet or fishmeal are two things which will cause tainting of the eggs. The gene causes a deficiency in TMA oxidase tis means that the TMA cannot be oxidised & the TMA is excreted in the egg causing the tainting.

 

[silentrunning]

Did it say if one breed was more suseptable to this condition than another?

Doug

 

[Krys109uk]

The tests were done on commercial flocks many years ago.
The gene could be inherited by any chicken, if one of its parents were carrying the gene. Seems modifying the feed would sort the problem.

 

[raroo]

This is quoted from Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, maybe it will help a bit?

"Off flavor may result from something a hen ate or from environmental odors. Hens that eat onion, garlic, fruit peelings, fish meal and fish oil will lay eggs with an undesirable flavor. Eggs can also absorb odors that translate into unpleasant flavors if they're stored near kerosene, carbolic acid, mold, must, fruits, and vegetables"