At the first taste of something fishy, many backyard coop enthusiasts may wonder “Are my eggs bad?”. This isn't an unfair question; eggs that taste and smell like fish are a pretty alarming discovery! Rest assured, there's nothing rotten about these eggs.

Is it normal for eggs to smell like fish?

Chickens eggs smell fishy due to nutrigenetics (a combination of nutrition and genetics). The most common nutritional cause of fishy eggs is too much canola meal, while brown-shelled egg-laying hens are genetically more likely to lay fishy-smelling eggs if fed elevated levels of canola meal.

Can you smell if an egg is bad?

Eggs that have gone bad will give off an unmistakable smell, regardless of whether they are raw or cooked (3). ... If things smell normal, meaning there is no odor at all, that's a good sign that the egg is still safe to use (3).