Question: Every now and then we get a dozen eggs and one of them has a double yolk. But recently, my mom bought a carton and every one had double yolks. How does a double yolk happen? And what are the odds of getting 12 out of 12?

        Answer: There are several reasons why a double yolk occurs, says Elisa Maloberti, consumer information coordinator for the American Egg Board.

        Hens just starting their egg laying careers, meaning very young, sometimes produce double yolks because their ovulation cycle is not quite in sync yet, like all young females entering puberty.

        At the opposite end of the spectrum, hens ending their egg laying career also experience out-of-sync ovulation and will repeatedly produce double yolks.

        If it's not a question of young-old, Ms. Maloberti says, it's genetics. Some family lines are just more prone to the whacky ovulation cycles that cause double yolks.

        “The reason you'll sometimes get several, or even 12, in a carton,” she says, “is because hens of the same age were kept together in a flock. It could be that the entire flock is just beginning or ending laying careers.

        “It's nothing weird or sinister or anything like that. Just mother nature at work.”

        Check the egg board's Web site at www.aeb.org for all kinds of egg info.

        If you have a stupid question, send it to Ask a Stupid Question, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati OH 45202; fax: (513) 768-8330.
       

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