blood in yolk

[Smile]

Hi, I am new here. It has been fun poking around and getting to "know" you all, but now I actually have a question...
Why is there blood in the yolk of some of my eggs?
My hens are about 1 year old. I used to have roosters, but got rid of the last one months ago. I used to think the blood was because it was fertilized, but since we still get some eggs with blood, I wonder why.
Thanks!

 

[eggcetra_farms]

Is it just a spot of blood? That can happen from time to time, just as a meaty piece can end up in the egg as well. This is actually more common in brown egg layers than white ones.

If it is a spot, I wouldn't worry about it. How much blood, and is it a brown egg layer?

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, I get them time to time too. Nothing to worry about really.

 

[Smile]

It is usually just a spot like the size of a pinhead. The other day, though, it was more like the size of a (hmmm, I can't think of how to describe the size) I guess like half the size of a dime? So, that's what made me write this topic.
And, we have brown egg layers and arucanas (blue). I don't think I have really noticed if it has happened in both or not. I will pay attention to it from now on. Interesting.
I think I will google the "parts of an egg" now and see what I come up with and try to see what you mean by "meaty"
I am not worried about it, just want to be educated in case one of my customers asks me. I used to tell them it was fertilized, but since I was obviously wrong about that, I want to know the real story.

Thanks!

 

[Smile]

Ah ha! I have found the answer!

Found on
http://www.smm.org/buzz/blog/the_chicken_and_the_egg

"Contrary to popular opinion, these tiny [blood] spots do not indicate a fertilized egg. Rather, they are caused by the rupture of a blood vessel on the yolk surface during formation of the egg or by a similar accident in the wall of the oviduct. Less than 1% of all eggs produced have blood spots."

cool. good to know (though I think my % is a bit higher