Eggs with blood in them

[Dharmachick]

One of my egg customers who is quite odd let me know that 3 of my eggs had blood in them. She said two of them had "a lot of blood" and she saw what looked like an embryo. I didn't ask her how much blood was a lot to her because I envisioned an egg that was 75% blood and told her her next dozen would be free. Then as the day went on and I thought about it, I've never seen a quitter egg with a lot of blood. I always crack open my quitters to see what could have gone wrong, and "lots of blood" has never been an issue. I'm thinking she is making this up about the embryos. She then asked if she should be worried about her frying pan being toxic from cracking the embryo eggs into it. I told her about balut eggs which got me thinking about how much blood would be involved if it was a quitter and why it would be mixed with my laying flock eggs. Any thoughts?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Well, I guess if the egg was actively developing, there would be a lot of blood depending on how old it got. But yeah, now that you mention it, my quitters never have like actual running blood.

Is it possible she just had one with a meat spot?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It is possible, especially with some hens, that parts of their reproduction track pass into eggs, which is what meat spots are. I guess I could believe blood is possible too, but again, it likely wouldn't really be 'a lot' (which is pretty subjective too), I can't imagine more than a couple droplets worth at most

 

[Dharmachick]

Yes, I agree. I think she was looking for me to replace her frying pan too. I am going to drop her as a customer. I would rather give eggs away to people I like than deal with a problem person every week. She got free eggs last week too since she didn't see the post that I would be an hour late.

 

[nuthatched]

It must have been a follicle or something.
Kick her to the curb

 

[aart]

I tell my few customers that if they find an odd egg to take a pic and put the whole thing, shell and all, in a container. Most understand what blood and meat spots are so don't report them.

 

[Dharmachick]

take a pic and put the whole thing, shell and all, in a container.

That's a great idea! I will do that!

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can look up "blood spot" on this link. It even has a photo. You can see how common they are. The commercial operations electronically candle their eggs before they package them to avoid customers finding them but we don't do that. The Egg Quality Guide doesn't show all the possible defects an egg can have but as you can see there are a lot. These possible defects are why I suggest we crack out eggs into a separate bowl before we mix them. You might want to suggest that to your customers.

Egg Quality Guide - The Poultry Site | The Poultry Site

A common cause of blood spots is that the developing yolk is surrounded by a membrane while it is growing. That membrane is full of blood vessels bringing nutrients to the growing yolk. When that membrane separates to release the yolk it is supposed to open on a line that doesn't have any blood vessels but occasionally it does not work correctly and a blood vessel grows across that line. The amount of blood that leaks out depends on how big that blood vessel is. Sometimes it is a tiny drop or two. Sometimes it can be a flood. Your customer may not be exaggerating that much. I'll copy a photo showing a blood spot. It looks nothing like the flood vessels that develop in an incubated fertile egg. This has nothing to do with a rooster.

 

[Dharmachick]

Yes, I am familiar with blood spots. She was saying that there was up to half the contents of the egg and a 7 or 9 day old embryo in 2 of them. (I sent her a video of egg incubation). It doesn't make sense that there would be both a lot of blood and an embryo in 2 eggs, and just a lot of blood in another. Three eggs from 3 different hens from one week. I could believe that they all developed and I grabbed eggs from a broody for the first time in the 8 years I've been keeping chickens and selling eggs, but 3 different hens in 2 different pens with all that blood? My white egg layers - Polish - are in a pen by themselves. None of them are broody or have been this year. My EEs and some of my orphingtons are in another pen.

Anyway, I candled every egg and cracked any that even might have been progressing and none were. I will candle every egg from now until broody season is over.

 

[aart]

She was saying that there was up to half the contents of the egg and a 7 or 9 day old embryo in 2 of them.

Tell her to send pics or it didn't happen. :
...and to save the contents, shell and all, in a container and you will trade her for a fresh egg.