404 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



Most double-yolk eggs have the same quality as normal eggs, 

 but the poultryman should not try to pack them in ordinary car- 

 tons or fillers on account of their increased size. They will project 

 above the level of the filler, or fit too snugly into the filler, and be 

 broken by the eggs surrounding them. One broken egg in a 

 shipment will damage perhaps four or five dozen eggs by reason 

 of its leaking contents. A broken egg is a very messy, unpleasant 

 looking article, consequently a moment of carelessness in packing 

 is often responsible for a serious discount on the sales statement, 

 or a disgruntled, indignant customer. 



Yolks are sometimes forced into the oviduct before they are 

 mature, and thus appear very small, and in some cases they are 

 little more than specks, in the completed egg. 



Blood Clots. — At certain seasons, usually during the first 

 laying period of pullets and during the spring months of heavy 

 egg production, especially if the flock is excessively forced by 

 highly concentrated foods, blood clots appear in the eggs, ad- 

 hering to the yolks. This is probably the commonest defect 

 arising in the ovary, and often a very troublesome one for the 

 poultryman, since he can not detect it without candling. Blood 

 clots are different from bloody eggs. The former are usually 

 caused by the rupture of a blood-vessel when the yolk sac 

 splits to allow the escape of the mature yolk into the oviduct. 

 The clot adheres to the yolk as it passes through the oviduct, 

 and is encased by the albumen. It is easily detected by the 

 candle. When the egg is opened the clot can be removed and 

 the egg is suitable for food. For table purposes this is very ob- 

 jectionable, for the appearance of the blood is disagreeable. 

 To those unfamiliar with the physiological reasons, it sug- 

 gests a partly hatched egg, for which many poultrymen have 

 been unjustly blamed. Obviously, when catering to a fancy 

 retail trade, or when eggs are represented as being of the 

 finest quality, they should be candled as a guard against this 

 trouble. 



Bloody Eggs. — An ordinary blood clot does not color the al- 

 bumen. If the white of an egg is bloody, it is from a different 



