Why Do Some Eggs Have Two Yolks?

Sauger's Eggs ^ | 07/12/2019

[millenial4freedom]

DOUBLE YOLKS EXPLAINED

Female chickens — hens — are born with two ovaries, just like humans. As the chick matures into an adult hen, her right ovary shrivels up, leaving her left ovary to handle the task of producing and releasing eggs. When we refer to the eggs that come from a hen’s ovaries, we aren’t talking about the shell and whites. We’re only talking about the round yellow part we know as “yolks.” The other stuff — what we know as a complete egg — comes later in the process.

When it works as it should, the whole process is pretty simple. A hen’s body produces a yolk that gathers other stuff and becomes the thing we dye at Easter and include in brownies, cakes, and stir-fry, among other dishes. But, just like the human body, a hen’s body doesn’t always work the way it’s supposed to.

Since we can’t put a camera inside a hen to observe the reproduction process she goes through each day, it’s impossible to completely understand what happens to cause a double egg. However, as best as scientists can tell, a double yolk occurs when something interferes with the rhythm of a hen’s reproductive system. In other words, something causes her reproductive process to speed up and release two yolks rather than one. While they aren’t necessarily released simultaneously, the yolks get released close enough together that they end up traveling through the fallopian tube together. That means they end up getting bound together into the whites and, ultimately, the eggshell.

[Jotmo]

Until recently, we had about 150 chickens, getting about 70 eggs a day.

We’d get at least one, sometimes two doubles a day. They’re pretty common.

I did get a triple once.

[BipolarBob]

Give me a 10 million dollar federal grant money and I’ll get right on this conundrum.

[oldasrocks]

I’ve had a lot of doubles and triples in older hens. Even had 4 yolks one time. They were Rhode Island also

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The hens are being fed at a higher nutrition level then necessary.

Which is why you will often find them in eggs from people who have backyard hens and not in store eggs.

The store eggs are produced by hens that have exactly enough nutrition. No extra because that would be waste and waste means smaller profits. And more clean up.

Back yard hens are fed until they are full and then they get a little extra.

So you get a double yoke.

[OKSooner]

Twins. Next question.

[PeachyKeen]

Interesting. I get double yokes every now and again. Always a delightful surprise .

[sweeperboy]

LOL. Like Dewey Crowe thought he had 4 kidneys on Justified.

[Irenic]

Congratulations! I always feel like I hit a mini jackpot. :)

[Flash Bazbeaux]

I went to a local breakfast place some years ago with two friends and we all ordered fried eggs. We each got three eggs with six yolks. The waiter said they got a whole case that way. So something caused a whole bunch of chickens all from the same place to make double yolks all at once.

[JudyinCanada]

You can tell a double-yoker before you crack it. The egg is slightly elongated through the middle, and has a certain appearance about it. We had chickens for years, and used to put all of the double-yokers separately in the fridge. I suspect the eggs you got were separated out the same way.

[fruser1]

Some chikunz want ballz.

[slouper]

Buy a lottery ticket.

[Boogieman]

“About seven or eight years ago,”

I blame Fukushima.

[fruser1]

"4 yolks"

Interesting.

Just for reference, here's a link with information about brownfields in RI.

http://www.dem.ri.gov/brownfields/

Small joke. The yolk bit would have nothing to do w/brownfields. Link authentic though. :)

[gr8eman]

Same reason there are twins, triplets, etc.

[PIF]

Jumbo eggs frequently have double yolks - usually the largest ones in the carton.

[Ken H]

[katykelly]

I had a 3 yolk egg .

[ken in texas]

My Dad had a dairy farm, peddling milk door to door. In the early 60s he also started selling eggs supplied by a local farmer.

One day a customer mentioned that the carton of eggs delivered the previous week only had eleven eggs, not a dozen, but each of the eleven was a double yolk.

[Greetings_Puny_Humans]

I see them occasionally, though maybe less commonly than I think.

I usually react by thinking it’s a pair of twins.