Double Yolker Question

[lavandula girl]

Our Red Star, Pippin, turned out an enormous double yolker yesterday. She's young, and had only ever given one other egg... a pullet sized one we got from her last week. So... do big double yolkers usually have a thinner shell? This egg was not fragile (all four of us handled it, admired it, passed it around) but when we cracked it, it was a lot thinner than the other eggs we get. I've never had a Red Star before, so I was wondering if it's due to the size of the egg, or if it's typical of the breed. Thanks!

 

[BeccaOH]

I don't have Red Star, but my neighbor does have 2 and gets a double yolker about once a month. I got one while babysitting the chickens, and the shell didn't seem too thin.

 

[SoJoChickens]

A quote about double yolks from a book I read:

"Double yolkers appear when ovulation occurs too rapidly, or when on yolk somehow gets 'lost' and is joined by the next yolk. Double yolks may be laid by a pullet whose production cycle is not yet well synchronized. They're occasionally laid by heavy-breed hens, often as an inherited trait."

So, this may go away as time goes on or it could happen occasionally due to genetics. Either way, it should be nothing to worry about.