Spiral Breeding

I have heard that hens lay the most eggs in there first year. after that it is a slow decline but can still be adequate for nearly two years. I think this is a question that you will answer when their production no longer meats your needs. Keep in mind that with spiral breeding your are moving roosters from one flock to the next each year. all the while selecting the best for whatever traits you are breeding for. In a perfect world each years breeding will result in a better rooster and hens from each pen. It would in that case be counter productive to keep any of your older roosters or hens for more than one breeding season.

What is spiral breeding?

With heritage birds the laying isn't always just in the first year. And if the hen has perfect characteristics for your goals, then I wouldn't retire her until she was clearly past her prime.

To keep it simple this example will be based on 4 pens. We will number these pens 1,2,3 and 4
a rooster is placed in each pen to breed with those hens. any female chicks that are selected for breeding from each pen will remain with that pen. any roosters that are selected from each pen for breeding will be placed in the next pen. In that case any rooster from pen 1 would be added to pen 2, any rooster from pen 2 would be added to pen 3 etc. in this way every 4 generations, seasons or whatever time cycle is being used a descendant from pen 1 will return to pen 1. this in effect creating a spiral rotation of breeding roosters through sets of hens. You can use any number of pens of hens you want including 1. I don't understand how 1 pen works as well as I do the 2 3 4 or more pen idea though. It is basically a breeding strategy that allows you to maintain a closed small flock of birds for a very long time and limit the effects of inbreeding.

Thanks,  that is sorta what I thought but wasn't too sure.
That is kind of what I would like to do with Easter Eggers.  But to clarify are you saying that any rooster selected from pen 1 going to pen 2, is that the offsring of the orginal rooster and hens or the orginal rooster?

Here's the article I wrote about spiral breeding:

http://www.pathfindersfarm.com/Spiral.html