Advice please

[Jinxchick]

Where are you getting that silkies only lay 3 times a week?

Most people I have spoke to said they are very poor layers and I would be lucky if they lay more than 3 times a week, I have also read this on line, hopefully I would get more xx

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Most people I have spoke to said they are very poor layers and I would be lucky if they lay more than 3 times a week, I have also read this on line, hopefully I would get more xx

They generally are said to be poor layers because they go broody*. If you get ones that never go broody, you'll get many more eggs. Happened with my silkies and Cornish bantams. Neither went broody and I nearly doubled what 'typical' production was.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Most people I have spoke to said they are very poor layers and I would be lucky if they lay more than 3 times a week, I have also read this on line, hopefully I would get more xx

You read a lot online and people tell you many different things. Look at those as general guidelines if there is any truth to them to start with. You will find that chickens don't read the book. Each one is an individual and does what they do, not what the guidelines say they are supposed to do.

There are different parts to this. If you have enough for averages to mean anything then you will get an average. But some individuals will be well above or well below the flock average. If you only have one or two, do you have one above, below, or average?

The person that selects which chickens get to breed can have a huge effect on this. If they make frequency of egg laying a priority in selecting which chickens get to breed they can develop a flock that, on average, lays a lot more eggs than a flock where frequency of egg laying is not a criteria. In this regard I find that strain (which flock they came from) is much more important than breed.

It's good to study it so you have an idea of what to expect, but go more by what you see as compared to what breed averages might be.