# Hatching double yolk eggs



## HerkNav

I have a hen that has gone broody that I am going to let raise some chicks. If I put an egg under her that is double yoked and one of the yolks isn't fertilized (not even sure if that happens) will there be any issues or will the fertile yolk develop normally?


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## Bee

Very rarely do those chicks survive to hatch and when they do, they don't survive much longer afterwards, from everything I've read on the subject. 

You can try it..should be interesting.


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## kjohnstone

Don't know about one yolk fertile and one not, but if both fertile, possibility of conjoined chicks. Have you ever cracked open a double yolker where the yolks seemed to cling together? That would be conjoined, or siamese twins, and most of those have buttloads of problems, some survivable and some not. You can always give it a try. It could go well and give you 2 healthy chicks, or not.


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## HerkNav

Thanks for the advice. I can usually tell which eggs are double yoked, so I will try to separate those out before I put eggs under my broody hen. I am not curious enough about what happens to purposely risk having Siamese twins.


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## RickaRae

HerkNav said:


> Thanks for the advice. I can usually tell which eggs are double yoked, so I will try to separate those out before I put eggs under my broody hen. I am not curious enough about what happens to purposely risk having Siamese twins.


I'm with you on that one!


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## morthlandc

I was reading up on egg hatching last night and the book I was reading said that you want to remove double yolk eggs. Not sure on specifics but most likely because the chick or chicks survivability is probably low.


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## Apyl

I recently had a hen hatch twins. I didn't want to believe it, but when I moved momma to get rid of the other eggs that didn't hatch I only found 1 egg shell. Both are alive and well and are almost 6 weeks old.


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## kjohnstone

Apyl said:


> I recently had a hen hatch twins. I didn't want to believe it, but when I moved momma to get rid of the other eggs that didn't hatch I only found 1 egg shell. Both are alive and well and are almost 6 weeks old.


Oh, this would be so interesting to see how they interact up to and through adulthood! I don't know if they would have to have started as a single embryo that split or if the hen actually made 2 embryos. Do they look identical? Can you keep us updated with any observations? Maybe make a special thread on twin chick???


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## kjohnstone

I guess the final hurdle would have been, that in sharing the same egg, especially at hatching time, they didn't kick and push at each other until one perished.


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## Apyl

kjohnstone said:


> Oh, this would be so interesting to see how they interact up to and through adulthood! I don't know if they would have to have started as a single embryo that split or if the hen actually made 2 embryos. Do they look identical? Can you keep us updated with any observations? Maybe make a special thread on twin chick???


Great idea. I'll start a new thread to post pics and keep record of the twins.


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## RickaRae

Apyl said:


> Great idea. I'll start a new thread to post pics and keep record of the twins.


Ooh, can you post the link to the new thread? I'd love to follow that!


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## Apyl

RickaRae said:


> Ooh, can you post the link to the new thread? I'd love to follow that!


http://www.chickenforum.com/f10/twin-chicks-post-6362/

Here is the link


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