1. Can two chicks hatch from one egg?
Yes. It's a rare occurrence. When two chicks hatch from the same egg, the egg usually has two yolks. Typically, one embryo competes against the other and only one chick survives to hatch. Often both embryos die before hatching.
We don't know if any Siamese twin chicks ever hatched. The development of twin chicks from one yolk.
2. What is a double laid egg?
It is an egg with two yolks in it. Both yolks were ovulated (released) at or around the same time and enclosed in the same shell. Many double-yolk eggs are created when young adult chickens first start producing eggs. Their egg-forming organs are not aligned or synchronized yet, so two yolks are released together. Shortly after egg production begins, the chicks' bodies adapt and they usually lay eggs with only one yolk. But there are some chickens that inherit the trait of laying dizygotic eggs and usually continue to do so throughout their lives.
3. If a female chicken hatches with about 4,000 eggs and only lays 240 to 250 eggs per year, what happens to the rest of the eggs?
Depending on the chicken's health and condition, they may: (1) persist in the chicken's body, ready to form a yolk, or (2) they may be absorbed into the chicken's body.
4. Can I hatch the eggs I buy in the store?
No, the eggs in supermarkets are infertile and will not hatch unless they come from a special farm that markets fertilized eggs in a niche market.
The male does not need to be present for the chicken to lay eggs.
5. If I find a bird's egg, e.g. A robin's egg, can I hatch it?
It is possible, but you should not do it, because young birds, like the robin, need competent care from their parents to survive. Humans cannot provide the same kind of care and the baby bird will most likely die from hunger, cold or mismanagement. They must be fed crop milk every hour for weeks.
It is also illegal in many states to collect eggs from wild birds.
6. If a mother hen sits on a fertile egg, will it always hatch? If not, what does she do with it?
Not all fertile eggs hatch, even when hatched by a brooding hen or in an incubator. Under certain conditions they will contain weak or defective embryos. Hatchability is influenced by (1) the age of the eggs at laying; (2) conditions under which they were stored before incubation; (3) parent animals, including their reproductive potential, health and diet; and (4) conditions while the eggs are being hatched. The fact that a chicken is incubating does not guarantee that a fertile egg will hatch. If an egg or eggs do not hatch, the chicken eventually abandons them and the nest. She leaves because the hormone that caused her to hatch is no longer secreted, so she stops laying the eggs. In a sense you can say that nature asked her to stop.
7. How long can the mother hen be away from the nest during the day? What happens if she stays away too long?
A laying hen can stay away from the nest for 15 to 20 minutes or a little longer at a time without damaging the embryos, unless the weather is extremely cold. If she stays away too long, the embryo will cool down. Then some chicks may be weakened and some embryos will die and not hatch.
8. If an embryo dies during incubation, does it feel pain?
In most cases no. The embryo simply goes to sleep. In case of severe shaking, extreme heat or cold and similar causes of death, the embryo may experience some discomfort depending on the stage of development.
9. Why does the eye get so big and why does it grow so fast?
We don't have the exact answer to this. However, it is possible that both eye size and growth rate are at least partly due to the eye being so complex and so important. So it takes a long time to fully form and develop it. It also takes longer to form organs that develop from multiple cell layers.
10. Can you open the shell of the chicken?
Yes, but it is not recommended. There is usually a good reason why the chick cannot hatch on its own. The chicken is usually weak, deformed or has other physical problems. Helping the chick to hatch can be painful for the chick and will usually kill the chick.
The young may come to understand that the chicken does not hatch naturally. But if you help (no matter how good the intention), the results will be seen as your fault.
11. Can we keep the chicks once they hatch?
Before handling the chicks, hatching must be complete and the chicks must be allowed to dry and air completely.
12. How can you tell if the chicken is male or female?
Unless you know that birds are sexed, meaning the males and females have different colors or different feather speeds, you can't tell them apart without special training. Trained chicken sexers can tell the difference by examining the chicken's internal organs with a magnifying glass. With vental sex you should know that it taxes the expression of folds, since a chicken has no organ.
If they have sexed plumage, you can tell the difference by (1) the different color of the feathers or (2) by observing the difference in the length of the chick's primary wing feathers at one day of age.
13. Can I take the chicken home?
No. You should not take the cubs home unless your family or some relatives live on a farm and have the proper equipment, buildings and knowledge to properly care for them.
14. How long after hatching does the chick become an adult?
Chicks become sexually mature after about five months. Quails can mature in as little as six weeks.
15. How long do chickens live?
Broiler chickens reach market age after six to eight weeks. On most commercial egg farms, laying hens complete their useful life when they are 18 to 20 months old. Data shows that when chickens are allowed to live their lives naturally, many of them will live between six and ten years, and it is claimed that some chickens can live as long as 22 years.
