Dinosaur eggs (aka double yolk)

[Heradev]

Our big grey hen has been laying double yolk eggs. We moved in/inherited these chickens last October, and since then she has given us at least 6 but possibly as many as 10. I didn't think to count. I read somewhere that this usually only happens a couple times a year so is this abnormal/bad? I also read that chickens are born with all the yolks they will ever have, so to me that means every double yolk is one less egg in the end. Not a big deal, as long as it's not unhealthy for her (though they are so huge.. it can't be fun to lay them ) She's the biggest of them all, and clearly the alpha. Sorry, I don't know her age or her breed... I'm still learning about that. Hoping I'll be able to find help figuring out what each one is from all of you well informed chicken keepers (not sure where to post about that though.)
Thanks!

 

[RainbowHen]

Do you have a photo of her?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Let's see the hen?

 

[MGG]

Our big grey hen has been laying double yolk eggs. We moved in/inherited these chickens last October, and since then she has given us at least 6 but possibly as many as 10. I didn't think to count. I read somewhere that this usually only happens a couple times a year so is this abnormal/bad? I also read that chickens are born with all the yolks they will ever have, so to me that means every double yolk is one less egg in the end. Not a big deal, as long as it's not unhealthy for her (though they are so huge.. it can't be fun to lay them ) She's the biggest of them all, and clearly the alpha. Sorry, I don't know her age or her breed... I'm still learning about that. Hoping I'll be able to find help figuring out what each one is from all of you well informed chicken keepers (not sure where to post about that though.)
Thanks!

You can ask about their genders on the "what breed or gender is this" forum.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/what-breed-or-gender-is-this.15/
I don't know about your double yolk question though. I'll tag @aart for you.

 

[aart]

We moved in/inherited these chickens last October, and since then she has given us at least 6 but possibly as many as 10.

That's only about once a month, so not that many.
Some birds lay a lot of double yolkers, mostly high production hybrids.
As long as bird is otherwise healthy, I'd not worry about it.

I also read that chickens are born with all the yolks they will ever have, so to me that means every double yolk is one less egg in the end.

Yes, but way, way more than they'll ever lay, even with double yolkers.

 

[Heradev]

You can ask about their genders on the "what breed or gender is this" forum.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/what-breed-or-gender-is-this.15/
I don't know about your double yolk question though. I'll tag @aart for you.

Thank you!

 

[Heradev]

Do you have a photo of her?

Hard to get a good shot because they think I have food for them, haha. Is this ok?

 

[Heradev]

That's only about once a month, so not that many.
Some birds lay a lot of double yolkers, mostly high production hybrids.
As long as bird is otherwise healthy, I'd not worry about it.

Yes, but way, way more than they'll ever lay, even with double yolkers.

Oh! I didn't know that. We had another that sadly died a few days ago, and I'm pretty sure she never laid an egg for us. She was not well, so maybe that's why.. the story behind that is a bit lengthy. But I originally thought she was just old and not laying any more. Do they normally lay right up until the end of their life (if they die simply of old age)?

 

[RainbowHen]

Hard to get a good shot because they think I have food for them, haha. Is this ok?

Pretty bird! I don't recognize that coloring in a specific breed. She may be mixed. Hens will slow down production as they age. Some you may occasionally get eggs from until they eventually die and some stop laying all together at a certain point.

 

[aart]

We had another that sadly died a few days ago, and I'm pretty sure she never laid an egg for us. She was not well, so maybe that's why.. the story behind that is a bit lengthy. But I originally thought she was just old and not laying any more. Do they normally lay right up until the end of their life (if they die simply of old age)?

A chicken can die for many reasons, a necrospy is usually the only way to find out why.
Generally, an unhealthy bird will not lay.