blood in shell ??

[BountyHunter23]

One of my Rhode Island Reds has been laying eggs with "speckles" in the shell. I thought it was unique but recently the speckles have grown in size and I can scrape them off, so I'm thinking this is blood. Attached photos show before and after I cleaned them. Is this comething to be concerned about? Are the eggs safe to eat?

 

[MysteryChicken]

One of my Rhode Island Reds has been laying eggs with "speckles" in the shell. I thought it was unique but recently the speckles have grown in size and I can scrape them off, so I'm thinking this is blood. Attached photos show before and after I cleaned them. Is this comething to be concerned about? Are the eggs safe to eat?

Not blood, spots often scrape off easy.
Brown pigment is colored by the same hemoglobin that pigment red blood cells.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nothing at all to be concerned about. That is fairly common.

If you crack that egg open and remove the membrane on the inside you will see that it is white. That shell is white all the way through. That is the way it is deposited in the shell gland. During the last half hour or so after all the shell material has been deposited the shell gland covers a brown egg with pigment. That pigment is only on the outside and can be sandpapered or rubbed off. If you do that you will see the white underneath. That is not just your freckles, it is all of the brown.

Think of it as your car going through a paint shop with the paint being sprayed on. If everything is working right you get a nice smooth paint job. But if it is not working right you might get a dark spot. It has nothing to do with the quality of the egg or the safety of the egg, just the paint job. Many shell glands don't always work perfectly.

That brown pigment is made from dead red blood cells. The red blood cells are wearing out and being replaced all of the time. The hen's body recycles those dead cells and uses the chemicals to create that pigment. The pigment is not blood, but it reuses some of the chemicals in the blood.

 

[BountyHunter23]

Not blood, spots often scrape off easy.
Brown pigment is colored by the same hemoglobin that pigment red blood cells.

Thank you for that info. Glad you folks are out there to help educate us noobs.

 

[BountyHunter23]

Nothing at all to be concerned about. That is fairly common.

If you crack that egg open and remove the membrane on the inside you will see that it is white. That shell is white all the way through. That is the way it is deposited in the shell gland. During the last half hour or so after all the shell material has been deposited the shell gland covers a brown egg with pigment. That pigment is only on the outside and can be sandpapered or rubbed off. If you do that you will see the white underneath. That is not just your freckles, it is all of the brown.

Think of it as your car going through a paint shop with the paint being sprayed on. If everything is working right you get a nice smooth paint job. But if it is not working right you might get a dark spot. It has nothing to do with the quality of the egg or the safety of the egg, just the paint job. Many shell glands don't always work perfectly.

That brown pigment is made from dead red blood cells. The red blood cells are wearing out and being replaced all of the time. The hen's body recycles those dead cells and uses the chemicals to create that pigment. The pigment is not blood, but it reuses some of the chemicals in the blood.

Very informative! How did you guys get so smart?
Thank you for relieving my concern !

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you for that info. Glad you folks are out there to help educate us noobs.

You're welcome.