Keeping Chickens Newsletter

Jean Tobolski : Thankyou for the wonderful newsletter that you put out. This is my question: I had a rooster and he was about 2 years old. He has been very aggressive and everyday I would have to take a stick in the pen with me. If I had the stick he wouldn't attack but the minute I didn't have it WATCH OUT!! I finally butchered him. I have no rooster but quite often I still have a blood dot in my eggs. I thought that meant the egg was fertile. Do you know what that would mean?
My chickens get a good complete layer crumble (full choice out of a hanging feeder). I give them a little scratch or cat food every day. The man at the store said cat food helps them come out of molt quicker. And oyster shell free choice. One chicken often lays a soft shell egg.

My Reply : Specks in eggs are quite normal, and it is believed that they are specks of blood or skin. Probably caused by the straining in laying eggs. Often it will happen regularly with a particular hen(s), but it is also common in pullets that are new to laying. The eggs are still edible (you may want to manually remove the particles before eating, but they won't hurt you) but people who sell their eggs will usually keep the eggs from hens known to produce specks for their own consumption.

Some people do give cat food for molting (and chickens will steal it if they get a chance) because it is high in protein. Unfortunately it is also high in fat, but as an occasional treat it should be fine.