Crossing a standard size hen with bantam Roo's?

[DabblinDuckDabbler]

Pullets tend to lay small eggs when they first start, and over time they usually progress to laying larger eggs.

Living with a particular rooster will not change what size eggs a pullet or hen lays.



Considering the season (fall), and that those are small pullet eggs, I would just eat the eggs and break her broodiness. Then you could let her hatch a clutch in the spring, when the weather is getting nicer and she is laying larger eggs.

The best chance of a successful hatch would be in spring with normal-sized eggs from a pullet or hen who has been laying for a while. Small eggs can be hatched, pullet eggs can be hatched, broodies can hatch eggs and raise chicks in the fall and winter-- but all of these points make complications a bit more likely.

The usual advice is to not hatch the first eggs from a pullet, because her body is still working out the details of how to make an egg properly.

Also, a chick that grows inside a small egg will have to be a small chick. A chick that grows inside a bigger egg will be larger because it had more space to grow and more egg to grow from. Chicks from normal-sized eggs are usually healthier. So that is a reason to wait until a pullet is laying eggs that are a normal size for her breed, before hatching eggs from her.

All this is kind of what I figured, it’s just that hers have been so consistently small, particularly compared with her spring pulley sisters, that I began to doubt the process!
I’m pretty hands off with them as far as broodiness goes. I figure what will be and what won’t won’t. It’s not an industry thing for me - I pretty much just let them do their thing unless there’s an obvious hazard to the hen or eggs. She still hasn’t committed to the clutch, so just seems like a teenager who can’t wait to be a mom at the moment.

Thanks!

 

[DabblinDuckDabbler]

Some hens always do lay smaller eggs than others. I don't know whether that is the case here, or if she is just really slow to move on to the bigger ones.

They’re just consistently tiny and adorable. She seems to be over it today, so I picked them all up. I might blow them and make ornaments or tiny pysankiy with them!

 

[RoosterHuggerLiz]

I have a frizzle rooster who is a mix of a light Brahma hen and a bantam Cochin rooster. He’s not bantam but also not as big as my standard size chickens. So probably a mid size rooster. He's just the right size where he can mate with both my bantams, silkies and Cochins, and standards though.

Dose size affect eggs much?

 

[Elvis Henley]

I've been trying to do some research and I want to be sure of this prior to me attempted to hatch any of these eggs, I have a Bantam rooster mixed into my flock of standard and Bantam hens, my favorite standard hen has recently gone broody but I also have a lot of Bantam hens broody at the moment and I don't want to have too many bantams in my flock, will my hen hatch standard, bantom, or a mix of chicks? They're her eggs so they're pretty large and if you must know the breed the hen is a Rhode Island red and the roo is a banton coaching, any clues or experience with crossing sizing?

Males gotta prove he's good sort in order for the female to submit you'll know if she's happy with him as shell lay for him to mate it's standard in the animal kingdom where the male is smaller... Gotta prove himself the female will test him until she's sure or reject him much like bonding but can get hectic in the beginning

 

[DabblinDuckDabbler]

Came here to research this question.
I have a young Buff O (standard) who has been the main squeeze for my bantam Cochin boys (also young - all hatched this spring). The hen is about a month younger than the Roos, and lays the most adorable little eggs. So consistently so that I was wondering if Bantam dads can cause hens to lay smaller eggs. Well, anyway, she’s thinking really hard about brooding now, and has a whole clutch of adorable little eggs.

Which - by the way - the legends about Buff O broodiness are TRUE. This girl hasn’t even finished filling out her comb, and is looking murderous if I come near her clutch.

Pics:
1) all the potential dads
2) my lil teen mom
3) her adorable little egg next to a standard Lav O egg.

 

[NatJ]

All this is kind of what I figured, it’s just that hers have been so consistently small, particularly compared with her spring pulley sisters, that I began to doubt the process!

Some hens always do lay smaller eggs than others. I don't know whether that is the case here, or if she is just really slow to move on to the bigger ones.

I’m pretty hands off with them as far as broodiness goes. I figure what will be and what won’t won’t. It’s not an industry thing for me - I pretty much just let them do their thing unless there’s an obvious hazard to the hen or eggs. She still hasn’t committed to the clutch, so just seems like a teenager who can’t wait to be a mom at the moment.

That makes sense. No reason to change a system that works for you!

 

[NatJ]

I might blow them and make ornaments or tiny pysankiy with them!

Those sound like fun ideas!