Pitfalls and selling points of selling fertile eggs in Spring

[kimslack]

Every year I go thru this with the hens. I have a bunch of first year layers that are laying now. they have beautiful eggs but sometimes they have a little string of blood or blood spot. I'm pretty sure it has to do with getting ready to have baby chicks behavior. I don't really think its a big deal and it seems to go away as the temperatures warm up into summer.

How do you tell customers about the fertile eggs and that they might find a bit of blood or meatspots on the eggs without turning them off?

Has anyone else had issues with customers getting creeped out about finding a very fertile egg? I'm so used to it, it really doesn't bother me and some of my older customers know this too but I have a bunch of new customers this year.
Kim

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Blood spots have nothing to do with fertility or preparing for spring. It happens in all birds but commercially those eggs don't end up in cartons due to automation and candling.
A blood spot is a blood vessel rupture.
I don't say anything to customers since they may not encounter them.
I felt obligated to say something one time. I told a woman who was a regular customer, "if she had any problem with the eggs, I would replace them."
She freaked out and never bought eggs again.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Every year I go thru this with the hens. I have a bunch of first year layers that are laying now. they have beautiful eggs but sometimes they have a little string of blood or blood spot. I'm pretty sure it has to do with getting ready to have baby chicks behavior. I don't really think its a big deal and it seems to go away as the temperatures warm up into summer.

How do you tell customers about the fertile eggs and that they might find a bit of blood or meatspots on the eggs without turning them off?

Has anyone else had issues with customers getting creeped out about finding a very fertile egg? I'm so used to it, it really doesn't bother me and some of my older customers know this too but I have a bunch of new customers this year.
Kim

The blood and meat spot issue is not related to fertility or lack there of - those are found in infertile eggs just as much as fertile eggs. As for a "very fertile" egg - this is easily avoided with regular egg gathering and/or not selling eggs found in "hidden nests".

 

[kimslack]

This stuff always seems to happen to me around this time. Maybe it is the cold or something that causes it but it only happens every once in awhile. But every time I crack one and there is a blood spot...I tend to freak out and wonder what happens when my customers see the same thing. I better not say "Don't worry about the blood!" or "You might get a little blood in your eggs".

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I wouldn't say a word. If you get a complaint, offer a free dozen eggs. (with blood spots

)

I think it tends to happen with younger layers so that may be why you get it now.

 

[kimslack]

The hidden eggs go to my dog...Its a bargain between him and I... he won't mess with my chickens and I'll give him eggs once in awhile. I collect them several times a day. They are a healthy bunch of fuzzy faced girls but I guess they may be a little cold or just knocking out eggs too fast. Not sure but worry about my responses to a horrified customer.

 

[kimslack]

I wouldn't say a word. If you get a complaint, offer a free dozen eggs. (with blood spots

)

I think it tends to happen with younger layers so that may be why you get it now.

(I Think so too!)

 

[aart]

I actually see blood spots more with my older layers(3yo).

I wonder too if my customers see them...and what they think.
I'd rather be told straight out, but people seem to temper their honesty for fear of offending.....
......or maybe they hesitate to tell me because I'll go into a long detailed explanation of all the reasons/possibilities and anatomical descriptions they'd rather not hear .....lol.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

If I think about it, I usually tell my new customers "These eggs aren't inspected like grocery store eggs so you might want to crack them over a bowl instead of your cake mix because there may be a surprise inside." Their response is usually "What, you mean there may be a baby chicken inside????"
Only time I was really worried about it was when some old ladys were buying my eggs for their high fallutin social functions about the time I was having meat spots. That would have been ugly if somebody found meat chucks in their devil eggs...