Double Yolk Quail eggs

[FatherFalcon]

Just showing out the quail eggs putting out! Most around 14.5g but recently one has been putting out a daily dose of double Yolkers. I’ve put a few in the incubator considering that one seemingly had two yolks but was a 23.1g single yolk egg. I’m hoping more will be the same.
Has anyone hatched a double yolk?
Or have had a large egg hatch?

 

[Nabiki]

It is very rare for a double yolk egg to hatch. They will often develop, but if two complete chicks form, they can't get into position to hatch. sometimes one embryo will absorb the other and you will end up with a chick with extra legs or something if it survives.

Double yolks are fairly common among new layers and your hen will probably start laying normal eggs as her system works out the kinks.

 

[007Sean]

It is very rare for a double yolk egg to hatch. They will often develop, but if two complete chicks form, they can't get into position to hatch. sometimes one embryo will absorb the other and you will end up with a chick with extra legs or something if it survives.

Double yolks are fairly common among new layers and your hen will probably start laying normal eggs as her system works out the kinks.

DITTO!!!!! It's best not to even try hatching double yolk eggs.

 

[scyllarus]

No double yolked eggs from my hens as far as I'm aware, but I have a giant egg in the incubator. It's definitely a single yolk though, and last I checked was developing well.

 

[FatherFalcon]

No double yolked eggs from my hens as far as I'm aware, but I have a giant egg in the incubator. It's definitely a single yolk though, and last I checked was developing well.

Definitely would like to get an update on that when as time goes….

 

[scyllarus]

1 week update. Giant egg is still viable - it's a big celadon egg, too, so I was able to candle and see the chick inside move. It looks close to hatch, but there's still space - not sure if the chick will actually grow to fill the space or not. I also took a picture to give a size comparison - the egg next to it is one of the bigger ones I've gotten from my hens. I never weigh them (wish I had but too late now) but I think the smaller egg might still be a "jumbo."

 

[Nabiki]

There should be an air cell at the top. The chick should never completely fill the egg or it won't have room to internally pip and get into position to hatch.

 

[scyllarus]

There should be an air cell at the top. The chick should never completely fill the egg or it won't have room to internally pip and get into position to hatch.

I hear ya. I meant there's still a little space under the air cell where I can see vessels and the embryo moving. Usually the others that are about to hatch are completely black inside (except for the air cell) since the chick is taking up the space.

 

[scyllarus]

Update #2 - the other celadon egg has hatched and is very cute. No idea which roo is the dad, though - I know the mother of both eggs is likely to be Mousse, a SW gamebirds roux piebald hen. The big egg is still kicking! Despite all my handling and candling, the baby has internally pipped. I've ended up pre-emptively making safety holes for all the late hatches this batch, so I went ahead and did so on this egg, put a little oil on the membranes and increased the humidity to avoid drying the baby out. The others have all hatched out perfectly with the safety holes, so I feel all right about making one on the big egg - mostly because I'm deeply curious as to what kind of chick it'll be!

 

[scyllarus]

Update #3: The chick didn't make it. Or rather, the chicks didn't make it. I was pretty sure it was a big single yolk and the chick was weak but moving - this morning when I woke up, the chick I could see through the safety hole wasn't responding. I opened it up and it was two chicks, both small, with their veins fully absorbed but still with yolk sacs. I'll post it in its own thread since it's a tiny bit gross, but in short:

Giant egg turned out to be twins that almost made it. If I knew it was twins, I probably would have assisted the hatch much earlier when the veins seemed absorbed but the chicks weren't yet out.

Edit to add:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/quail-double-yolk-egg-topsy-warning-pictures.1618190/