[Lady89]

My question is can it be done?

I have a hen that lays double yoked eggs, I don’t know which hen it is but I would like to have more. I am assuming it is genetic so what I was wanting to know is can I hatch a double yoked eggs to get more. I have never heard of hatching twin chickens, would they suffocate each other in the egg before they hatch?

if i can not hatch a double yoked egg, could find which hen is laying the double eggs and if she lays single yoked eggs as well would they be likely to inherit her ability to lay double yoked eggs?

 

[Spamela]

There is a video of someone helping a double yolk egg hatch on youtube. Both of the chicks survived so it must be possible but probably highly unlikely. They certainly would not be able to hatch on their own, you would need to assist them.

Just google double yolk egg hatching on youtube. It's the first video. Video name is Twin Chickens!

 

[Ceilismom]

I don't know if laying double-yolk eggs is heritable or not. I think your odds of success, if you want to try selecting for that trait, would be better if you only try to hatch the single-yolk eggs from a hen that tends to lay double-yolkers. There isn't much room inside the egg for one chick to develop, with two, there is less room, and great potential for one chick's hatching problem to kill both.

 

[Use Less]

Some hens give double yokes when they are young, then single after that. The space inside the shell is an issue to mortality for sure. Ceilismom's idea makes sense, but that presumes the doubles are genetic, and not age-related. If genetic, you could raise the odds by saving a rooster born of one of those single-yolk eggs from the one who laid doubles.

 

[Lady89]

that is what i was thinking thanks for the input

 

[Tiempo]

Please don't intentionally set double yolkers, their chance of survival is practically zero, they tend to develop quite far then suffocate in the egg.the video on youtube is interesting, but it's an extreme rarity.

I had twins in an egg last season, I set the egg as it was not unusually large...I tend not to candle until a couple off weeks in so they were quite a surprise.

There's video of them in the candler on youtube.they died around day 18

I think setting single yolkers from the heavy double layer is worth trying.

 

[CurtisWilliams]

In a word: no.

 

[Fire-Man]

Instead of probably Loosing a Good Double Yolk Egg-----I would fry it up and put it in between 2 pieces of bread----be good that way!