My 7 month old pullets lay small eggs and they almost always have a small smear of blood on the egg. I read somewhere (maybe this site, don't remember) that this could be a sign of cocci. My girls appear very healthy. They get almost exclusively laying mash from southern states and their vents are moist and light pink. I know it could be caused but a light tear when they lay their first eggs, but they've been laying for a few weeks now. Please let me know what causes this and if I should be worried about cocci. Thanks

Hope somebody in the know answers. I like to know too.
Good question.

Sometimes our chickens do this. It is usually caused by them laying an egg larger than they are used to-everything down there has to stretch to release the egg. If its just a small smear of blood and no one is looking weak than I would not suspect cocci-yet. Keep in mind this is only my experience and I don't know for sure if it could be cocci or not (I've only lost young chicks to that and they didn't bleed). Good luck. Mina

It might be helpful to know that I had a bantam who did this for quite some time. I discovered that as she was laying, other birds would pick at the pink edge where the egg was coming out, causing her to bleed a little. In the process of laying the egg, she would hold still to allow this to happen. Once she found a better place to lay, the egg end was protected and the blood on the eggs stopped. If you are concerned about cocci, you can treat with a coccidiostat, but chances are that's not the problem. Hope this helps.