3 months of small eggs

[mccmeadows]

I was under the impression that Wyandotte’s and Orps would lay the same size eggs, but that’s not the case here. The Wyandotte girls were the first to lay starting in the beginning of September, but my grey gals have far surpassed their egg size since they started laying. They also refuse to use their nesting boxes 75% of the time and regularly lay outside and it drives me crazy, but that’s beside the point..

Will the Wyandotte eggs get bigger even though it’s already been over 3 months? I feel like some days they’re getting smaller. Is it bad genetics? Pictured below is a Wyandotte egg on the left and the Orpington on the right. It’s like a small egg you’d get from the grocery store and the Orps are laying regular large eggs.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Some birds are just genetically programmed to lay smaller eggs (since it's been 3 months that sounds like the case here). Unfortunately hens don't read what their breed description says!

As a general rule pullet eggs will increase in size noticeably (but gradually) in the first few weeks/months, and then much less noticeably increase in size for maybe a year or two after that.

 

[mccmeadows]

Some birds are just genetically programmed to lay smaller eggs (since it's been 3 months that sounds like the case here). Unfortunately hens don't read what their breed description says!

As a general rule pullet eggs will increase in size noticeably (but gradually) in the first few weeks/months, and then much less noticeably increase in size for maybe a year or two after that.

Thanks for the info! All of them are laying small eggs, so I assume it’s genetic? They were purchased as a group I wanted to breed with, but I’m guessing I shouldn’t.

 

[JCOP]

All of my wyandotte lay alot smaller eggs than my orpingtons. The wyandotte eggs are usually about 1.2 oz to 1.7 oz. The orpington eggs are usually 1.8 oz to 2.2 oz.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you look at Henderson's Breed Chart Orpington are supposed to lay large to extra large eggs while Wyandotte are supposed to lay medium to extra large. Not sure where they got their information. I've never had Wyandotte but my few Orpington laid medium sized eggs.

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

In theory a breed is supposed to lay a certain sized egg. But that's just theory. If the person that selects which chickens gets to breed uses egg size as a selection criteria then egg size gets controlled. If they don't use egg size as a selection criteria you can get egg sizes all over the place. Very few breeders pay that much attention to egg size, whether that is a breeder breeding for show or a hatchery selecting their breeders. The same type if thing can happen with the size of the chicken, the egg shell color shade, or many other things. It all depends on what the breeder uses as a selection criteria.

When trying to select chickens for your breeding project sometimes general breed information is all you have to go by, but you really need to see what is really happening with those chickens. The eggs will gradually get a little bigger after 3 months but if egg size is one of your breeding criteria I would not use them. They are not going to get that much bigger.

 

[mccmeadows]

If you look at Henderson's Breed Chart Orpington are supposed to lay large to extra large eggs while Wyandotte are supposed to lay medium to extra large. Not sure where they got their information. I've never had Wyandotte but my few Orpington laid medium sized eggs.

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

In theory a breed is supposed to lay a certain sized egg. But that's just theory. If the person that selects which chickens gets to breed uses egg size as a selection criteria then egg size gets controlled. If they don't use egg size as a selection criteria you can get egg sizes all over the place. Very few breeders pay that much attention to egg size, whether that is a breeder breeding for show or a hatchery selecting their breeders. The same type if thing can happen with the size of the chicken, the egg shell color shade, or many other things. It all depends on what the breeder uses as a selection criteria.

When trying to select chickens for your breeding project sometimes general breed information is all you have to go by, but you really need to see what is really happening with those chickens. The eggs will gradually get a little bigger after 3 months but if egg size is one of your breeding criteria I would not use them. They are not going to get that much bigger.

Great info on the chart, thanks for posting! I decided to order some hatching eggs today from another breeder and replace or add them to Mike’s pen next summer. I really like him and the Blue Laced Red Wyandotte breed, so I’m hoping with higher quality eggs (the breeder confirmed that her hens lay good sized eggs), I can produce better layers.