Probably every lover of chicken eggs sooner or later came across a two-yolk egg. Previously, they could be found only in domestic chickens, but now they are sold in stores. Such eggs are tastier and more nutritious than ordinary ones, but the question arises, what is the reason for this phenomenon and is it possible to fearlessly have two-yolk eggs?
How do you get it?
Those who are faced with such a miracle of nature for the first time are sincerely perplexed and trying to find a reason. Many believe that there are chickens that carry two-yolk eggs, that is, it depends on the breed. But this is far from the case. There are several reasons for chickens to have eggs with two or more yolks, and not all of them are harmless.
- Very often two-yolk eggs are laid by old or sick hens. In addition to two yolks, there may be other deviations: a yolk-free egg, of an irregular curved shape, without shell, with blood spots. The appearance of such eggs in domestic chickens very often indicates that the bird either has an oviduct disease, or because of age, the tone of the oviduct has already decreased. Having noticed such a bird in their household, it is most often sent to soup.
- Improper feeding of a young bird, because of which it has a malfunction of the hormonal background. Also, such a disease can be at the genetic level, and not just because of the conditions of detention.
- If the two-yolk eggs are not carried continuously, then this may be due to the fact that two eggs simply accidentally ended up together in the ovary.
- In addition, recently, poultry farmers noticed another reason for the appearance of eggs with two yolks in the clutch. If the bird was fed hormones for a long time or it has some kind of disease, which results in a similar anomaly, then it is highly likely that it will pass this ability on by inheritance. That is why they try not to get offspring from such hens.
What to do?
In fact, there are several ways to solve this problem with poultry.
- The first thing to do is to replace all adult chickens with younger ones.
- If the problem persists, then review the nutrition. Perhaps you are giving foods that contain too many hormones.
- Another reason why eggs are two-yolk may be too long daylight hours. Reduce it first to 12 hours, and then gradually bring it to 13-15 hours.
- If this does not help, then you should contact your veterinarian to have a bird examined for any diseases of the ovary tract.
Will there be chickens?
For people far from agriculture, the question naturally arises whether it is true or not that a two-yolk chicken egg will bring twin chickens. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Such eggs do not produce offspring, as they are not suitable for embryo development. Nature, as it were, rejects biological material from a weak or sick individual.
In a two-yolk egg, naturally one of the embryos dies and, when decomposed, poisons the second.
Pros and cons of two yolks
The appearance of such an egg is no different from the usual. It is of the usual color and shape, but much larger. The weight of a two-yolk egg usually varies from 110 to 120 grams, while in a single-yolk egg it rarely exceeds 70 grams. It should immediately be noted that the large size of the egg does not necessarily mean that it contains two yolks. Ordinary eggs can also be quite large.
It should immediately be said that you can eat a two-yolk egg. Only eggs with any additional mutations can cause harm. A sign that should alert you when you break an egg is the presence of a multitude of blood streaks or clots there. Unfortunately, this suggests that the bird that laid this egg was sick. Eggs from a healthy bird will not do any harm to your body.
Two Yolk Egg Production
So far, we have been talking mainly about domestic chickens. But many have already noticed that two-yolk eggs also began to appear in stores. What is it? Breeders or some special breed of chickens?
Unfortunately, we hasten to upset you. Poultry farms that produce a special line of eggs with two yolks simply feed their poultry with hormonal preparations, especially trying to get two-yolk products from them.
The final consumer has not yet understood the full danger of such eggs, and no special studies have been conducted on this product, since two-yolk eggs appeared on the shelves relatively recently. Previously, eggs with two yolks were sent for processing to obtain egg powder. Now they are “thrown out” for sale, and they cost significantly more than ordinary ones. It turns out that we are being poisoned for our money, since it is not known how such a hormonal egg will affect our bodies.
Based on the foregoing, it can be concluded that the consumption of eggs with two yolks in food is undesirable, since any intervention in the natural development of nature never goes unnoticed, and it is not known who will have to pay for it - for us or our descendants.
How to distinguish?
Is it possible to distinguish a two-yolk egg from an ordinary one? There is a special device - an ovoscope, which can determine the quality of an egg by enlightening it with special rays.
It is clear that no one will go to the store with such a device, although it is quite compact. Therefore, only visual differences remain. As already mentioned above, such an egg is almost twice as large as usual, has an oblong shape. The color of the shell corresponds to that characteristic of this breed of chickens. In addition, in stores such eggs are usually much more expensive than simple single-yolk eggs. Some manufacturers even indicate on the packaging that they are two-yolk.
Signs
And finally, a few signs associated with such an anomaly.
- It is believed that if such an egg is found by an unmarried girl, then she will soon get married.
- If a two-yolk egg is caught by a married woman, then one can expect an addition in the family, possibly even twins.
- A man who finds such an egg is waiting for an increase in his masculine strength.
Popular wisdom says that those who are lucky enough to find a two-yolk egg will soon gain good luck and fame, increase their well-being and bring happiness to their home. Having found such an egg, our ancestors boiled it and cut it according to the number of family members so that well-being would not pass anyone by.
And, by the way, scientists also did not bypass this phenomenon. They drew attention to the fact that before the increase in seismic activity in the region, many chickens begin to lay two-yolk eggs. So do not rush to immediately send your laying hen to the soup - take a closer look at her, maybe she wants to warn you about an impending earthquake.
Conclusion
So, now you know that there is no “magic” breed of chickens that can carry two-yolk eggs. And supposedly the benefit of such eggs, about which promotions speak, is another ingenious move by marketers. Only you decide whether to eat eggs with two yolks of industrial production.
As for domestic chickens, we repeat that the presence of only two yolks in an egg does not do any harm to the body. Again, here by default I mean that you do not feed your bird hormones. But in any case, this feature of your chickens should make you wary and reconsider your methods of raising birds. If you are sure that you are doing everything right, and the veterinarian has not found any deviations, then most likely this is a mutation at the gene level, which affects all living things.