Multiple white spots on egg yolks?

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Hi all,

I was about to whisk up my typical weekend quiche, and noticed that my yolks all seem to have multiple white dots/spots on them. In the year + a couple months since my girls have been laying, I’ve never noticed them before.

Naturally I Googled it, and found that a white spot is perfectly normal. But some of mine have 2 spots. Is that normal? And do the spots begin appearing at a certain age? I’m just surprised I never noticed before. I have 5 hens and no roosters. Pics attached. Thank you!

 

[Katie386]

That’s interesting. Is it those “meat spots” or is it double fertilized? Or maybe calcium? I would like to know too.

 

[sourland]

All eggs will have a blastoderm, but it looks as if your eggs also have sloughed bits of the reproductive tract. Are they older hens at the end of a laying cycle ?

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

That’s interesting. Is it those “meat spots” or is it double fertilized? Or maybe calcium? I would like to know too.

They look like blastoderm. But I don’t know why mine have multiple spots, or why they just started appearing. They do get egg shells & oyster shells. Maybe excess calcium? But I thought that appeared as those hard knots on the exterior of the shells.

<<response edited to sound more intelligent>>

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

All eggs will have a blastoderm, but it looks as if your eggs also have sloughed bits of the reproductive tract. Are they older hens at the end of a laying cycle ?

They were hatched in April of 2019. Does that make them older? If it is sloughed bits of the reproductive tract, are they safe to eat? Thanks!

 

[Katie386]

I’ve research and apparently your the only one whose had this. But looking at your pict again I see a red spot so I’m thinking sourland is right and it’s just parts that came out of the chicken with the egg

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with Sour, it just about has to be meat spots. The Egg Quality Handbook talks about them a little. Bits of organs or just internals slough off and float in a hen's body cavity. It happens in our body cavities too. The body just deals with them, not a big deal. Sometimes those find their way into a hen's internal egg making factory and they become a part of the egg. Or bits may break off from the hen's internal factory as the egg makes its way through. Since those are on the yolk they would have to be from the body cavity or right at the start of that internal journey.

They are safe to eat. With bigger chunks there can be a YUK! Factor for sure but those are pretty much not even noticeable. As long as the hen is acting normally there is nothing wrong with her, it's just something that happens.

https://thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

I agree with Sour, it just about has to be meat spots. The Egg Quality Handbook talks about them a little. Bits of organs or just internals slough off and float in a hen's body cavity. It happens in our body cavities too. The body just deals with them, not a big deal. Sometimes those find their way into a hen's internal egg making factory and they become a part of the egg. Or bits may break off from the hen's internal factory as the egg makes its way through. Since those are on the yolk they would have to be from the body cavity or right at the start of that internal journey.

They are safe to eat. With bigger chunks there can be a YUK! Factor for sure but those are pretty much not even noticeable. As long as the hen is acting normally there is nothing wrong with her, it's just something that happens.

https://thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook

Thanks for your response. Do you know if could be diet or related to a particular cause? They seem to be on most of the eggs from multiple hens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hard to say. Could it be diet? Probably, though I don't know what would cause it. Is your feed fairly fresh? Do you leave lights on for 24 hours? They need some dark down time or it can cause egg quality problems.

You said they have been laying over a year. Have they molted? The later a hen is in her laying cycle the more likely you are to have egg quality problems. The commercial operations face that problem. After their flocks lay for 13 to 15 months straight with no breaks the quality and quantity of eggs go down so they can no longer make a profit on the eggs so they either have to replace the hens or molt them to recharge their egg laying system.

Some diseases can cause egg quality problems but I'd expect worse than that. Besides, if they are acting healthy they probably are.

I don't know if it has been going on for a while and you just noticed it. That kind of stuff could happen to me. Ort did you notice it because it just started happening?

 

[Katie386]

ugh quit saying “sloughed“ that word grosses me out!