Any luck with double yolkers/twins?

[featherhead007]

If you incubate it, they will likely develop their notochord(the thing that allows for the perception of pain) before they die a painful death. I don't think that it would be ethical to incubate them with these odds.

OUCH!
I have eaten double yolk eggs before but never attempted to hatch any!

 

[OF65]

40 years ago I worked in commercial poultry houses. At that time they did not know that much about double yolk results in the hatchery. We the growers found out real quick. The chicks hatched with maybe two heads, a body and a half, most often seemed to be 4 legs. Most did not live or were dispatched on finding. Occasionally 4 legs would live to slaughter time. It really depended on how much blood flow there was to the extra member. Double yolks sold readily for table eggs so the company did not suffer loss. It was found that later feeding in the day caused more dbl yolks. Do the growers were told not to feed after 3 pm

 

[lazy gardener]

Many people are giving negative opinions - just to avoid possible pain. Personally, if it were my decision I might prefer to err on the side of giving the embryos a chance. If life were only about never having pain, everyone and every animal would die extremely young. Life is about persevering while there is any chance at all.

An incubator has limited capacity for eggs. Most folks who are collecting eggs to hatch have the option of picking and choosing which eggs they set. Do not set the double yolker, and there will be no embryos. Simple decision, actually: Enjoy the double yolker for breakfast, save that spot in the bator for a viable egg which stands a very real chance of healthy normal development into a healthy normal chick.

Emotions aside, I think there is probably a genetic component to double yolkers, which is an undesirable trait for many reasons, so why would one want to produce more birds that might lay double yolkers?

Agreed.

 

[Morrigan]

At the end of the video there was a big bloody spot on the floor of the incubator and the person doing the narration seemed to go to great lengths to hide that fact. This much is certain, there is no way that twin chicks can hatch naturally because there is not enough room for them to assume the position necessary for hatching to begin. And even though at the conclusion of the video both chicks seemed dried, neither one of them was moving which is odd for chicks and both peeps seemed to be in a tortuous position. Sort of like they were suffering from profound birth defects.

I actually think both chicks in this video made it and lived to adulthood. After reading this thread, I got interested in whether a double-yolker had ever hatched and stumbled across this old thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-hatched-video-p-16-13-week-pics-p-51.104245/

Although the embedded videos no longer work in the old thread, one poster had linked to site that still had a working screenshot, and I recognized the wedding ring. She posted updates of her chicks until they reached laying age, at which point she sold them.

So, incredibly rare, and I would never try hatching a double-yolked egg myself, but it's not impossible.

 

[Morrigan]

Emotions aside, I think there is probably a genetic component to double yolkers, which is an undesirable trait for many reasons, so why would one want to produce more birds that might lay double yolkers?

Plus, I would think laying double-yolkers is incredibly hard on the hen. I've only had two in my 5 years of chicken keeping, and I no longer see them as a good thing.

 

[Hyroler]

I have tried to get twins with double yolk egg 3 times in last 2 months with no success.Each time only got 1 chick but what is unusual is that every time took 26 days for chick to hatch.All 3 chicks were much bigger than normal.I'm assuming what happens is as soon as 1st chick fetus starts to develop both yolks break.2Nd chick doesn't get chance to develop leaving twice the amount yolk for developing chick to eat.With extra yolk chick isn't forced to hatch at 21 days. I've come up with this theory because when all 3 chicks hatched on 26 day there was no yolk left in shell.

 

[Speedychicken27]

Do you sell or trade any eggs?
[QUOTE="Muddyacreshomestead[/QUOTE]

 

[Hyroler]

I just posted in trade or sell section yesterday.Im looking to trade my fertile hatching eggs for some Black Copper Maran eggs.

 

[Joanie1975]

If the egg with the double yolk is not double the volume each chick will have less food to grow on. If the egg is not double the surface area each chick will have less oxygen. If you wouldn't deprive a live chick of food, why would you set an egg where for 21 days each chick has less than optimal food and air? You can eat the double yolker or you can cook it and feed it to your flock.

I did not set it. My hen took it and several other eggs to sit on. It was quite a bit bigger than the others. I found the twins on day 7. I didn’t choose to hatch twins, I suppose she did

 

[Chickycammy]

I have a double yolker in my incubator right now. It's due within the next week to hatch. So far the twins look good when candling yet I'll have to wait when/if they hatch out to know 100% if they're healthy and going to make it. They are Barred Rock eggs so they're going to be super small.