Lately, my hen Gertie, (an Easter Egger chicken) has been withholding her eggs an extra day. So instead of laying an egg every day, she is laying every other day. And the resulting eggs have been well…BIG!
You might recall that Gertie laid a double-shelled egg once that contained a yolk and and another entire shelled egg. But this time, they turned out to be just double yolkers (no shelled egg inside).
To be safe, I video taped the opening of the eggs – in case we had mutant turtles in there or something. But since they were just double yolkers, I’m not going to post the video. Don’t tell Gertie. She thinks her eggs are world famous!
Why do chicken’s sometimes lay double yolks?
It happens when they don’t release the egg down the canal during development. In other words, they ovulate but no shell is formed until the next day when they ovulate again. Then the shell forms around both yolks and they lay the egg.
You have to keep your eye on hens that do this. It is possible for the egg to get too large and it can get stuck…which can be bad….very, very bad.
So far, Gertie has never had a problem. She is just being a bit of a show off.
Way to go Gertie…way to go!
About the Author
Theresa Loe blogs here about taking the garden full circle while striving for a more local, fresh-from-the-garden lifestyle. She is a TV producer, video host, freelance garden writer and a wrangler of chickens and children. (Not necessarily in that order.) For more information on these topics, you can subscribe to her free monthly newsletter.
Theresa Loe is the award- winning Co-Executive Producer & Canning Expert on Growing A Greener World TV. She blogs here about Living Homegrown®, local and fresh-from-the-garden. 
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
We rarely get double-yokers. They are fun to discover when you open an egg…like discovering a treasure!
So true Teresa! It is like a special treasure for sure!