Breeding for longevity/long layers

[Kimberoo]

I did a brief search but didn't see any relevant results. Has anyone here done a breeding project for longevity of egg layers?

I feel like ideally you'd collect eggs from 8-10 year old hens that lay semi-regularly, age out those babies to 8-10 years, hatch eggs from the healthiest & highest egg production hens in that group (I'm thinking goal of 3 eggs/week?) and so on and so forth. It would be a ridiculously long term project, but would ideally breed out those that are prone to cancer, liver failure, and other common health issues. Plus it would allow those with small flocks to keep their small flock and still have reasonable egg production for much of the hens' lives without expanding (although we love chicken math lol).

 

[DarJones]

Sounds like breeding elephants. You only get to observe one or two generations. Seriously, it could be effective, but has potential to compromise a lot of other traits.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I did a brief search but didn't see any relevant results. Has anyone here done a breeding project for longevity of egg layers?

I feel like ideally you'd collect eggs from 8-10 year old hens that lay semi-regularly, age out those babies to 8-10 years, hatch eggs from the healthiest & highest egg production hens in that group (I'm thinking goal of 3 eggs/week?) and so on and so forth. It would be a ridiculously long term project, but would ideally breed out those that are prone to cancer, liver failure, and other common health issues. Plus it would allow those with small flocks to keep their small flock and still have reasonable egg production for much of the hens' lives without expanding (although we love chicken math lol).

Just buy from breeders that already do this. A lot of standardbred breeders have old hens that they hatch from for this very reason. Very healthy and vigorous birds.

 

[Emberhaven]

Just buy from breeders that already do this. A lot of standardbred breeders have old hens that they hatch from for this very reason. Very healthy and vigorous birds.

How do you find these longevity breeders?