Egg/yolk appearance

[kmpcfp]

What's going on with my eggs? The last time my flock was with a rooster was over 10 months ago, so why am I getting eggs with a huge germ?

 

[Ginmary]

It's large but it doesn't appear to have the bulls eye.

 

[aart]

How old is that egg?

 

[GC-Raptor]

My hens range in age 18 to 47 months old and have never seen or been with a rooster.
Here's two pictures of different eggs from my hens that I zoomed in on and the blastodisc is visible near the center.

All chicken eggs will have a blastodisc or a blastoderm if fertilized. GC

 

[aart]

There's a name for this type of cell growth.....but I'll darned if I can remember.
@Ridgerunner knows.

 

[kmpcfp]

How old is that egg?

Not more than a month. A lot of my hens took the fall/winter off from laying and I think a couple of my spring chicks from last year didn't start laying until this year. I have 14 so I am not sure who is laying which eggs.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Aart, I told you, don't you remember? I've slept since then, at my age that's all it takes to forget.

So I did a web search. When searching it helps to remember that that it's more common in Turkeys than chickens yet still rare.

Parthenogenesis

 

[aart]

Aart, I told you, don't you remember?

I forgot that you forgot.
I knew you'd come up with it tho.