A little disapointed

[johnsons-r-us]

Quote:
I'm sorry, I couldn't resist

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
I'm sorry, I couldn't resist

Will my silkie EVER lay?!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Sometimes side by side with production birds, especially next to hybrids, the standard large fowl seem to eat like pigs and not produce worth a hoot. They often begin with dinky eggs as well, while the hybrids crank out huge eggs rather quickly. The more heritage oriented large fowl have to be thought of in the long run. You have to imagine not having to replace them in a couple years. That might ease the sting a bit.

A top notch hybrid will lay earlier, lay larger eggs, and lay many more eggs. That is what they were bred for. They generally won't do so for more than a few years, as they are Hare in the story. Meanwhile the Tortoise, the more conventional breeds, tend to lay, ploddingly along, for 4 or 5 years.

The hybrid Hare will lay her 550-650 eggs in two years, while the Tortoise might take 3-4 years to do it. The hybrid Hare is generally culled and often replaced at the end of her second laying season, although she may still lay at a mediocre rate for another year or two. One has to factor in the cost of raising her replacement. You'll need to raise two hybrid Hares for ever Tortoise over an average 5 year period. But, bear in mind, you do have to feed that slower producing hen for 3 years, giving her time to match the production of a single hybrid, but she'd never match the production numbers of two hybrids laying, back to back, in a 5 year period.

I've crunched these numbers and raised both kinds of birds over the past decades. Frankly, honestly, it is almost a veritable wash. Perhaps have some hybrids and enjoy some more heritage type, large fowl. Have some of each.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I looked at the McMurray site. Fred knows more about the commercial breeds than I do, but I think McMurray's sex links are probably the commercial layers. I did not see a production red, so I assume the red you got is a red sex link ansd not their RIR.

 

[Ole rooster]

Well I'll be. Thanks for that info. So I have a black and a red Sexlink. Sonofagun.

 

[Blue]

My two one-year-old buff orps. lay some of the largest eggs of my flock along with my ameraucana. They're not laying right now (none of my hens are laying well now - seems just about all of them decided to go into a molt at the same time

), but when they do they usually lay around 5 or 6 eggs a week.