Just discovered that 2 eggs are twins.

[AngelaPenny]

I have eggs in the incubator due to hatch March 31.

The eggs are all normal size, no large double yolkers. I candled them tonight and found that 2 of the eggs have twin embryos in them.

It makes me sad, I know they won't hatch....how does this happen in eggs that aren't double yolkers?

I took a picture of one, forgive the quality as it's with my BB.

 

[Sphinx]

They won't necessarily not hatch. They'll probably need a lot of assistance from you though.

Here's a video where she assists twins.

 

[AngelaPenny]

Thanks. I've seen that video, and I've had to assist in other hatches.

I'm not going to get my hopes up though, I know the odds aren't good.

Any idea how it happens without the eggs being double yolkers? I did candle them before setting them (to chek for cracks, etc) and there was definitely not two yolks.

 

[AngelaPenny]

Day 14 and both of the eggs holding multiples are still growing. They look much smaller than the other embryos, but I guess that is to be expected when there are two babies squished in an egg.

 

[Sphinx]

Well, a double yolker would indicate fraternal twins. Maybe the twins are identical, and when that first cell division happened, the cells separated completely into two chicks?

I don't know, I'm not an expert on chicken reproduction. I think taking a cautious approach in your emotions is a good idea, but it sure would be cool if it works out.

 

[Morabilityranch]

This is very interesting, I have never seen this happen before. I can't wait to see the outcome .... I hope they make it

I have eggs in the incubator due to hatch March 31.

The eggs are all normal size, no large double yolkers. I candled them tonight and found that 2 of the eggs have twin embryos in them.

It makes me sad, I know they won't hatch....how does this happen in eggs that aren't double yolkers?

I took a picture of one, forgive the quality as it's with my BB.

 

[smchickfarm]

great pictures!!!

thank you for sharing and best of luck to you!

 

[AngelaPenny]

I just candled the eggs again, and they look strange.

These embryos are definitely alive as I can see them moving, but one egg looks like the veins only seem to have spread to one side of the egg.

They are much smaller than they should be at day 15. And both of the candled eggs look exactly the same, two definite masses, but almost like they are "stuck" to the membrane. They don't seem to be moving freely.

Maybe I don't have twins, but exact deformed embryos in each egg. Has anyone ever had an embryo stick to the membrane while growing?

Both of these eggs don't look normal. I am now scared that they will hatch out two headed chicks or something.

I will let nature take it's course.

The rest of the eggs look perfect. I wonder if both of these eggs were laid by the same hen? They look too similar for it to be a fluke.

And I will keep you all in the loop as we move along.

 

[AngelaPenny]

Ughh.

Wouldn't you know....a transformer blew and we lost power for apprximately 5 hours today.

I had the bator wrapped in blankets the entire time. The temp, when the power came back on was at 88...it took about 15 minutes to get back to regular temp.

I hope it didn't hurt the rest of the eggs. We are so close now, day 16.

 

[AngelaPenny]

So all of the eggs made it safely through the power outage except for one of the suspected twin eggs.

It was definitely gone, as the veins were 'missing' so I opened it up.

There was no multiple, but a singleton who was attached to the membrane. It was dead, but perfectly formed for a 15/16 day old embryo, except for the fact that it was stuck on the membrane at one side.

Since the other suspected "twin" egg looks exactly the same when candling, I'm betting that this is the same scenario inside that egg as well.