Speckled egg when run under water

[mi2bugz]

We have 24 week old chickens (3 hens - silver laced Wyandotte, barred Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire red and a speckled Sussex roo). When we collect eggs we are brushing any debris off them and storing on the counter until we use them. when we are ready to use them we are running them under water that is about 20 degrees warmer than the egg. When we run them under water dark brown speckles appear on some eggs. Is this normal?

While I was writing this question my daughter cracked a non speckled egg and it had brown spots in it. Is that indicative of a fertile egg? Off to search forum now to see if I can find anything in the brown spots.

Thank you for any help!

~ Nicole

 

[Fred's Hens]

The speckled outside is fairly common among Rocks. I'm sure they're common in other breeds as well. No big deal.
The dark specks of "meat" and or blood on the inside of the eggs isn't a sign of fertility. You merely have a pullet or two that is adding a speck of tissue, sometimes called "meat" into the egg.

While not harmful, in the commercial world, this isn't a desirable feature.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Here's a photo that shows you want to look for in an egg yolk to find out if it was fertilized.

(Thanks, The Chicken Chick, for this!)

Dark specks on the shell are normal. Our barred rocks lay "freckled" eggs as well, sometimes dark enough to see even when they're dry. Any dark specks in the egg itself are as Fred's Hens said: bits of blood or tissue that were encased in the egg as it formed. It's not unusual for this to happen, even with healthy hens, so it's no great cause for concern.

 

[mi2bugz]

Thank you so much!!!