Double Yokes

[Viz]

If an egg Has a double yoke, does that mean 2 chicks will come out of the one egg?

[j2buttonsw]

If fertilized then yes, I think it will.

[wildwood]

Nothing is impossible, but in order for two chicks to hatch from one egg the egg has to:
1) be so big as to hold twice the volume as a standard egg. Usually the strongest embryo will thwart the smaller one which will expire well before full term and and it's remains will poison the egg content, also killing the larger embryo.
2) On the rare occasion that both chicks survive to the hatching stage in an extra large egg, they will both have to pip within a very short time of each other, which is most unlikely. The chick that is at the pointed end of the egg would also have to be strong enough to break through the inner membrane and the outer shell at the same time because at that stage it starts to breathe with its lungs, and there is no air-cell at the pointed end. The normal routine is that when a chick is ready to hatch the blood vessels attached to the membrane which has nourished it with nutrients and oxygen close off while the remaining yolk is drawn in. The gradial lack of oxygen makes the chick convulse which causes the egg-tooth (a small pointed bit on the beak) to break through into the air-cell, then having a rest and pumping blood into it's temporarily enlarged neck muscle before it resumes the strenious task of breaking through the shell.

[bernardo]

No it won't. The "seed" which grows into the chick is a different bit which is on the edge of the white bit. The yolk is merely a blob of food which feeds the seed and makes it grow.

[wildwood]

For the first time in 2 years I need to disagree with Bernardo. The 'seed' is not on the side of the white, the germinal disc grows attached to the topside of the yolk. The developing embryo is lighter than the albumen which causes the yolk to revolve when the egg is turned, thus ensuring that the developing cells are always closest to the source of heat. An fertilised egg with 2 yolks has indeed the potential to produce two chicks, but, because of the environment of development, the likelyhood of it happening is very rare. There are some records of people who claim to have gotten 12 chicks from 11 eggs but these are likely to be mere instances of miscounting.

[Greedyfly]

Im sorry to be picky but it is YOLK

[thewillow]

Greedyfly - I know how you feel but Spellmaster's latest onslaught is a lesson to us all.

[Azimov]

Greedyfly, you're clearly not sorry to be picky, in fact you are quite obviously anxious to be picky evidenced by the fact that before your post, 2 of the 3 posts contained the correct spelling of the word "yolk"! Sorry if I've stolen what you thought was your thunder for being a smartass with a semi-adequate education!

[Janetex]

Most eggs are not fertilised. wildwood gave a very good answer. But.... if it did happen and two chicks did hatch from the one egg... would they be identical?