Poor Egg Condition

[Eggcessive]

The bloody eggs my hen laid were even more bloody than that. She laid one every 2nd or third day until she stopped laying altogether. I think that it is something going on in her oviduct, and it may not have a good outcome. If you can find a vet willing to give her a hormone implant that would stop her from laying for 4-6 months, it would extend her life.

 

[Jesse Lee Turner]

I’ve run into an issue where about half of my eggs are of poor condition. They’re not aged out. This occurs even with 1-2 day old eggs.

When cracking them open the yolk will have zero structure, completely liquified. Sometimes the contents of the egg appear to be lumpy and often times there’s blood, sometimes a lot. I’ve noticed on some the yolk seems to be bound to the egg shell too, like it hangs on when cracking open.

I had three this morning and then remembered this forum. I’m posting a side by side pic of two eggs cracked into bowls for comparison. This one was not really bloody but liquified.

Those aren’t old eggs - they’re reproductive failure signs. What you’re describing and showing - yolks disintegrating, clinging to the shell, blood streaks, lumpy whites - that’s classic chronic vitamin A and E deficiency, possibly combined with poor selenium and B2 (riboflavin) status. Over time, it causes damage to the lining of the oviduct and disrupts yolk membrane formation.


These aren't just dietary gaps - they're long tail deficiencies building quietly. Here’s what to do:

Immediate repair protocol (7–14 days):​

**Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate, human form soft cap will do):
Dose: 1,000 IU per bird daily for 10 days
How: mixed into something soft (eggs, soaked feed).

**Vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol):
Dose: 50–100 iu per bird daily
How: Wheat germ oil or human E soft gel caps pierced and squeezed into feed. Natural E only - skip synthetic “dl-alpha”.

**Riboflavin (B2):
Dose: 4–6 mg per bird daily
How: Plain crushed riboflavin tablet (or B2-rich food like a dab of liver or nutritional yeast). No full B-complexes - just B2.

** IF THINGS DON'T IMPROVE QUICK, think about adding Selenium (organic if possible) IF it is NOT in their feed:
Dose: 10-25 mcg (micrograms) per bird daily
How: Brazil nut scrapings (just a tiny pinch will do), or dissolve a 200 mcg selenium yeast tablet in a waterer for the flock. Don’t go overboard - it’s very potent.

Support foods that help:​

1. Boiled egg yolk (yes, feed it back)= phospholipids for yolk membrane integrity
2. Minced chicken liver (tiny bits, 2x a week)= A, B2, weird thought but selenium-rich (if using this, DROP selenium supplementation done above)
3. Black oil sunflower seeds: natural E and fatty acids

Do this consistently and you’ll start seeing firmer yolks, healthier whites, and more predictable shells in arround 7–10 days. You’re correcting the blueprint that makes the contents inside the shell.


Also worth checking: if one or more hens are laying these and are looking pale, thin, or have vent staining, they may need a deeper cleanout. But this is not infection alone - it's nutrient-based repro collapse. Preventable, fixable.

You caught it in time. Well done.

 

[LaFleche]

Here’s a more extreme one this morning.
View attachment 4136780

This one has definitely an embryo that has developed for at least about 8-9 days. You can already see the head forming and the darker spot is an eye.

 

[ThePoultryDoc]

Agreed. This is an embryo - the vessel formation is the key giveaway. It's normal for the yolk to begin breaking down as the embryo grows/is being incubated.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have a rooster, or does a neighbor?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Agreed. This is an embryo - the vessel formation is the key giveaway. It's normal for the yolk to begin breaking down as the embryo grows/is being incubated.

How far along would you say development is here, Dr.? How many days?

 

[BobsRanchita]

I think your eggs might be fertilized…well this egg anyways seems to be growing a chick. Do you have a rooster? Are you sure you’re collecting these right away, there isn’t a possibility this egg could’ve been hidden under hay for a bit or something? How hot is it where you are located?

I do have a rooster but I’ve had a couple look like this recently and man I sure thought it looked like a developing chick. But eggs are collected every couple of days. It is possible one of the girls that likes to lay on the ground in the shavings could be burying eggs and they’re getting dug up over the days and I think they’re fresh. I’m cleaning the entire coop this weekend so that’ll help me understand if that’s the case.

I did some google searches and nothing showed what I posted or anything close to it for a cracked open fertile egg…but that sure looks like an eye.

 

[LaFleche]

I do have a rooster but I’ve had a couple look like this recently and man I sure thought it looked like a developing chick. But eggs are collected every couple of days. It is possible one of the girls that likes to lay on the ground in the shavings could be burying eggs and they’re getting dug up over the days and I think they’re fresh. I’m cleaning the entire coop this weekend so that’ll help me understand if that’s the case.

I did some google searches and nothing showed what I posted or anything close to it for a cracked open fertile egg…but that sure looks like an eye.

When having a rooster with your flock it is very important to collect the eggs every day, in warmer temperatures even twice per day to prevent them start developing.
If the eggs are not collected daily, mostly in spring and early summer the hens will go broody quite often and can start a clutch sitting on the eggs without you knowing and the result is what you see when cracking your eggs.

 

[alinas2010]

I thought this was an interesting pictograph, it could help. Chicks develop so fast!

Spoiler: Embryonic chick development