Double yolk eggs questions

[TanyaFL]

I have never in my life got a double yolk from a store bought egg...and I thought they were rare. I remember reading someplace a long time ago that most chickens lay one double yolk at some point in life.

I have 3 girls that started laying about a month and a half ago (dont know breeds for sure, they came from the local feed store and all they could tell me were they were a mixed box of brown egg layers....1 looks like a RIR and the other 2 look like New Hampshires.)

Anyway, I am fairly certain that Lady, one of the New Hampshires, is the one who is doing this...but I just got my second HUGE egg from her. About 2 weeks ago I got this huge 3 inch egg and sure enough, it was a double yolk. Today I find this one, and I measured and again another 3 incher. It looks hysterical sitting next to my other eggs, lol.

So my question is, what causes this exactly? Is it just a genetic thing or is it what they are eating or do certain breeds just lay them more often or what? I was so shocked by the first one that I called everyone I knew about this crazy huge egg and even refrained from eating it at first so I could show it to a few friends, lol. Now I am wondering if she is just going to keep on laying them...

My 8 year old swears its the apple cores, lol. Apparently my son gave her an apple core the night before the first one and again yesterday...I do admit, its kind of an interesting coincidence but I am thinking that is all it is...or am I wrong? lol

Tanya

 

[SpringChickens]

Aren't they fun??

Double yolked eggs are more common in chickens who are just starting to lay, as well as some "high production" chickens, such as RIR. The reason you don't find them in the grocery store very often (or ever), is because they candle all of their eggs before they package them. They're able to see the double yolkers and remove them.

 

[Choco Maran]

Well someone else may know more, but here is my take on it. Some hens are more prone to lay double yolkers. I have several different breeds and I get double yokers once in a while from all of them. It is not as uncommon as you may think. The large production farms discard all double yokers, selling them to other places for use. Just enjoy them. As far as the largeness I get3 inch eggs all the time. It is normal for me. and all mine get is layer crumbles and the occasional flake of hay and salad fixen. Today they got a bunch of brocilli.

 

[TanyaFL]

Its crazy what you learn by raising some chickens yourself, lol! I never knew a chicken could even lay an egg that big. I would have sworn it was not even a chicken egg if it had not been for the fact that it was in the coop...in a nesting box...and the coop had been closed up. I would have insisted a neighbors duck must have done it or something.

I am just surprised they remove double yolkers...I wonder why...uniformity??? I would have TOTALLY bought them if I saw them sitting on a store shelf, lol!!!! OMG, you could have sold me a carton of double yolkers any day!

Tanya

 

[Orp]

We buy Jumbo eggs at the grocery store and we often get double yokers. I can remember actually cracking them and finding more double-yokers than singles. The eggs were rounder in shape, not as oblong.