How did it happen?

[Jenise]

This is a birds and the bees kind of question. Saw a pic this morning of two eggs that had been cracked and deposited directly into a skillet. Five yolks, because one of the eggs held four. The chef who posted it called it a "once in a lifetime" event. I'll bet.

I dunno....fertility supplements in their feed ?

Wow four is a lot.
I’ve heard of three yolks in one egg, when I happpened to be buying some oversized organic freerange
eggs. every one of my dozen was a double yolker.

I wonder if each yolk had its own chick embryo, or whether the extra yolks are just the yolk substance (which the hen produces) without an embryo? And if each yolk does have an embryo, would you get multiple chicks hatched out if the egg were incubated?

-Paul W.

The henhouse is on the site of an old kaleidoscope factory.

According to the British Egg Information Service, the odds of discovering a quadruple-yolker are one in 11 billion, according to a press release from Dakota Layers. A double yolk occurs when a hen's body releases more than one egg during her daily ovulation cycle. And, just like humans, it's possible for two — or more — eggs to make their way from the ovary and through the reproductive tract. The overall odds of a hen laying a double yolk are one in 1,000

Something has happened with eggs. I noticed that the eggs in the last carton of "large" eggs were larger than the jumbo eggs I sometimes purchase and almost as large as goose eggs. They took up the entire section and the carton was almost too short to close properly. I can usually count on about 50% of the eggs in the jumbo carton to be double yolks.

So this is the bird equivalent of fraternal multiple pregnancy in humans. Since each yolk does have an embryo, presumably multiple chicks will try to develop if the egg is incubated. Can that work? A fully-developed chick normally completely fills the egg at hatching. With a double yolk there would be only half as much room as usual for the chick to develop. I'd expect premature hatching.

-Paul W.

During Farmer's Market season, April to mid December, I buy local eggs, they are so good, dark gold yolks and large. This year after I ran out at the end of the season, I picked up eggs at the store, supposedly organically raised. They had no taste at all. I am having to put salt, pepper and herbs on them .