My hens are only laying eggs with meat and blood spots!!

[Squawkbox]

I only have 3 hens laying right now and for the past few months they have only been laying eggs with meat and blood spots. They are almost 2. Is there anything I can do about it?

 

[kcjones]

What are you feeding them?when i gave mine 22% layer crumbles i had the same problem. After i switched back to the 16% protien layer crumbles the problem went away.

 

[Squawkbox]

Hmm, very interesting. They are on 21% layer. I also feed them seeds/apples/corn/scraps etc.

They have been eating 21% since they have been laying and have never had this problem, why would it start now?

All I know is it grosses me out to crack an egg and see something vile in it!

ETA not sure if this is related but my other hen hasn`t laid an egg in well over a month and is not broody or molting and is acting normal. What is up with my hens!?

 

[TwoCrows]

I have had troubles with too much protein. High levels of protein make them lay more often and sometimes my girls were laying eggs with blood spots. I was using a 20% protein feed and reduced down to 16%. I have not seen any meat or blood in my eggs in a long time.

On top of that, the birds will eat more of a lower protein feed than a high one. So I figure they are eating healthier if they are eating the layer feed instead of picking around in the dirt looking for food with less protein.

 

[chefchick]

I am curious to know the answer to this as well. Because almost all of my eggs through the fall/winter had some sort of speck in them, either meat spots, blood spots or even both. I attributed it to thier age, since they just started laying in the early fall. Egg production never dropped much all winter, but the girls were looking thin and one got ver ysick, so someone suggested that I try worming them (for that reason, not the spotty eggs)I don't know if it had anything to do with it or not, but I haven't had one spot in an egg since I wormed my hens this spring. Coincidence?

 

[Squawkbox]

I wormed my chickens in about november, and didn't start seeing the blood/meat spots until January (with my one hen) and the other 2 were just a few months ago, and then the other hen isn't laying at all. I wish they would get back on track!

 

[BullChick]

I was wondering if your problem with spots went away, and if your other hen ever started laying again?