Why are my eggs bloody inside?!?

[mychickensneaky]

I was making some fried eggs this morning and cracked open 4 of my eggs and the yolk inside looked bloody. I was totally grosed out but now it keeps me curious why the eggs were bloody inside and afraid to find my other eggs like this. And also one day I cracked one of my eggs and it looked really weird like one half of the yolk was orange and the other half was light yellow. Can some of you that has been doing your own eggs for a wile please answer me.
Thank you

 

[1muttsfan]

your birds have gotten scared well laying there eggs or before laying because when i hen gets scared more blood runs into the yoke and makes it look bloody so if there free range theres probably a cat or hawk scaring them so in a few days the eggs should be fine if they stop getting scared

Please do not make comments that are unsupported by facts.

Blood inside the egg is caused by a small rupture in a blood vessel as the egg is being processed through the oviduct. You may also occasionally see a small fleshy spot. These are normal and not dangerous, but if you find it distasteful you can discard or feed the (cooked) eggs back to your hens.

 

[aart]

I raised chickens as a kid for about 15 years and have been wanting some as an adult. I have 6 great laying hens; 2 Barred Rock's and 4 Black Australorps. I just cracked open an egg this morning from one of my Barred Rock hens and the egg's white was literally bloody; not a small spot from a vessel burst, but about 90% blood. It is a 3 day old egg.

I Googled bloody eggs and found this post. I saw that someone posted if a chicken gets scared that this could happen. Yes, a hawk flew over "The Girls" when they were free-ranging a 3 days ago, and my dog did scare them once; within about a 1 hours time. I am assuming that was the cause, as others posted the "scare-factor."

I cracked open the last two days eggs from the Barred Rocks and all of them look great; very clear. These hens are in eggcellent condition (sorry for the pun.) VERY healthy without any obvious medical issues. They are also about 1 year old laying hens.

If this occurs again, I'll come back and post pictures. I tossed the egg out when my boyfriend was grossed out, so no picture!

@Diane Holycross it is alarming, even for veterans who've seen it before.
Not so much from being scared, but maybe, can just happen and sometimes the vessel is larger so more blood. Nothing to worry about unless it keeps happening.
This is a good reason to open eggs one at a time in a separate dish before adding to pan or recipe.

I think it's explained in this excellent video, which is worth watching regardless:

 

[rollkeeg877]

just telling u now thats not bogus or what ever just cause u don't see it in books doesn't mean its not true so when u see something like that just ignore it and wright what ever u want. and yes it is because when ever my hens got scared in a couple days there was blood in the eggs so many things can cause it

 

[Egg Eater]

Here's a link that rather scientifically lists possible causes, including diseases, dietary problems, etc. Notably, one cause is actually fright due to loud sounds, etc., which backs up a previous post by Keegan (rollkeeg877) who caught some grief here for their suggestion.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/28/blood-spots/

 

[rollkeeg877]

your birds have gotten scared well laying there eggs or before laying because when i hen gets scared more blood runs into the yoke and makes it look bloody so if there free range theres probably a cat or hawk scaring them so in a few days the eggs should be fine if they stop getting scared

 

[Eggcessive]

I have a welsummer hen that laid a beautiful dark brown egg 3 times a week, and most were bloody. I singled out this hen because I didn't want to give her eggs away. They were perfectly fine to eat, but I preferred to feed them all back to the chickens after gathering a few. The picture I have included is only a small amount of blood--usually it was more. The hen stopped laying altogether.

 

[Dylon]

your birds have gotten scared well laying there eggs or before laying because when i hen gets scared more blood runs into the yoke and makes it look bloody so if there free range theres probably a cat or hawk scaring them so in a few days the eggs should be fine if they stop getting scared

My hen was pinned down by a hundred pound lab.. she sll layed a healthy egg the next day...

 

[rainbowhatchery]

I always got a chuckle out of people freaking out over this like its gross. I always mention do you know why your steak is red, because its full of blood so why would one little blood spot in an egg bother you lol.

 

[Egg Eater]

Here's a web site listing, rather scientifically, reasons for bloody eggs, including disease, dietary problems, etc. Notably, one reason is "frights and disturbances" which back's Keegan's (rollkeeg877) claim.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/28/blood-spots/