[pinkchick]

Hi all

I've plucked up the courage and decided to buy some hens 5 weeks ago.  I've got 5 hens & a cock.  They are round 27 weeks old.  

The yolk is a deep orange colour, the eggs are very small and they taste awful to eat and smell very fishy!  

I feed them on pondeuse pellets and they roam where they like in the garden.

I have one other hen that is laying but her eggs are fine to eat.

I would be most grateful for any advice.

Thanks

 

[Jellyhead]

Welcome Pinkchick and fellow Frenchy :shock:  I give mine Pondeuse, Oyster shell and mixed corn. I dont know why your eggies taste horrid :shock: someone more knowledgable (not difficult) will help soon where in France are you?

[Bodger]

Eggs will take a taint from exceptionally strong foods, I don't know of the product you mention but if it has a high level of fish meal in its content , then this is obviously where the taint could be  coming from.

[Jellyhead]

If its the same one I get Bodger then it shouldnt be the pellets :?  Will have to see what Pinkchick comes back with :?

[Bodger]

I know that fishmeal is withdrawn from fattening pigs diets a few weeks prior to slaughter in order to get rid of taint.

[richyrich7]

We had bad tasting eggs once, the hens had decided to eat the choisya (Mexican orange blossom) so that had to go  :roll:

[compostqueen]

well done you for spotting it was that which was tainting the eggs.  You could have grubbed up all the shrubs before locating the culprit  

[richyrich7]

Well the bloomin thing smelt like O' de la tomcat, and thats more or less how the eggs tasted  :shock:  :puker:

Never had the problem since it went  

[chickenlady]

We got one of them in the girls run :shock:  better dig it up quick!

[richyrich7]

We got one of them in the girls run :shock:  better dig it up quick!

 :shock:  they've not eat it yet  :!:  my seem bent on destroying everything they come across    that and pooing right outside the back door  :roll:

[pinkchick]

Hi

Thanks for all your comments.  

Jellyhead - I use the same pellets as you.  I live in the South West of France Dept 79 in a hamlet called La Chapelle Gaudin, inbetween Bressuire and Argenton Vallees....where are you?

As I'm new to all this.  Do I need give the hens oyster shell and corn? Is it essential for their diet?  :?

[chickenlady]

We got one of them in the girls run :shock:  better dig it up quick!

 :shock:  they've not eat it yet  :!:  my seem bent on destroying everything they come across    that and pooing right outside the back door  :roll:

  hubby is always telling me off for not clearing up the poops just outside the backdoor I think they do it on purpose and take bets on which of us will tread in it :?

[muntjac]

yes oyster shell( oestra ) and grit is absolutly needed in chucks diets .without oyster shell they will lay soft eggs and try to replace the shell with thier own bone calcium .... without grit they wont be able to grind up seeds and other food stuffs they eat  

[nnbreeder]

As for the corn I would use it as a treat only. I have found that it builds too much body fat over time and will cause the layers to have health problems in the long run. And if you do feed corn whole grains are very hard to digest so I use the cracked corn. It has been through a roller and is slightly crushed.

[treacleminer]

I visited an open farm once with the kids - farmer said he couldn't sell the eggs from his free-range hens because they had decided that they liked to drink from the run off from the cow shed - tasted of ammonia!
Point is could your hens perhaps be eating something they shouldn't - fertilizer maybe?
Hope you get it sorted
Janet