Darker spots on some eggs...normal?

[JLS]

I have a flock (totaling 13) of orpingtons and faverolles less than a year old. They are laying VERY well! I am getting 12-13 eggs per day (not bad at all since we are in the middle of winter in Maine). They lay brown eggs. I have noticed that some of the eggs have darker spots on the top and bottom. The spots cannot be washed off - I have tried. The spots appear to be part of the shell not on the outside of it. It almost reminds me of the way ice on a pond looks - some areas are darker than others.

I feed them Blue Seal Layer pellets and they have access to oyster shell as they choose. I must admit that I do spoil them with cracked corn on a daily basis and table scraps provided that it is not meat. I have this thing for vegetarian fed birds. Of course, if they find bugs or other things to eat in their environment that is just fine with me.

Are the darker areas on the shells an indication that there is something missing in their diets? Or is it normal? If you have any information on this subject I would love to hear from you.

 

[RocketDad]

My Red Star lays eggs with "freckles." I looked at them with a lens once, and they're slightly dimpled below the outer surface, and rough. I think the roughness picks up more of the pigment than the other areas of the shell.

My Buff Orp lays eggs with smaller speckles, but they look about the same. I think it's caused by little textured areas on the shell surface.

Your "thing" for vegetarian-fed birds is perhaps not as helpful to the birds. They're omnivores. They love meat scraps. I give mine the trimmings off the sides of steaks, so they get some fat and a bit of meat, plus whatever my kids don't eat.

 

[JLS]

Quote:
I have been thinking about adding fish to their diet. I do want to keep them healthy. Thanks for your help!

 

[gsim]

Freckled eggs taste the same as others at my house.

I cannot imagine that it means a thing. I see them now and then . Could be that mass producers cull them for fear of buyers thinking there is something wrong with them?