The Poultry Keeper

Clucky · Joined: 22 Jul 2006 Posts: 2187 Location: Shropshire

Not sure if Fenn has been on somewhere here recently, but one of her hens is laying eggs with blood in the white and yolk, not spots either, but more and now another hen is doing this.

I have tried to search the net for diseases, parasites that might cause it, but to no avail. Any suggestions "Oh oracles of the chicken fraternity?"

kated · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 2021 Location: norfolk

There's a letter to the Vet's Forum in Country Smallholding magazine this month with reference to this. According to Victoria Roberts it might be a deformed ovary that's causing the problem.

Kitsune · Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 1406 Location: Manchester

I'm pretty sure it's just a small blood vessel that's rupturing, the spots come from capillaries that rupture but clot quickly, the larger ones could be from small arterioles or venules which are the vessels just a bit larger than capillaries, these would probably cause more blood to be found inside the egg.
I'd be inclined to keep the hens concerned inside for a while to let their insides recover.

It does seem odd that another hen is now doing the same though, I'll have a look into it and see what I can find.