Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[call ducks]

Quote:
Not sure if were trying to be amusing or not - an ostrich is different than a chicken.

Cornish - large bird small eggs
I have a friend that has parent flock for a Strain of free range broilers - she has to stunt their growth in order to maintain productivity. They are about have a

Again I am going to say what I said earlier that was meant as hint to just drop the subject

You belive what you want to, and I well belive what I want to.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
Yep. My big ol' heavy WRs will lay a large egg every time~just like me they are built and have the capacity to produce a bigger offspring(my biggest was 10#). Actually, most all the different breeds I have and keep lay eggs about the same size. I think that uniform, grade A large egg is pretty standard for healthy chickens in their prime of laying life. The smallest eggs I get are from my smallest hens~a BA and a NH. The Dels, WRs, bigger BAs, RIR, Leghorn, etc., will all lay eggs that are pretty uniform in size.

I strive for a uniform egg and I keep an eye on any bird putting out excessively huge eggs and consistent double yolkers...this is a bird that usually won't have a long laying life and may develop laying issues or ovulation problems. It's kind of neat to get those kinds of eggs every now and again, but for the life of my layers I prefer to get that steady grade A large, perfectly shaped egg.

 

[gjensen]

Call Ducks, don't feel picked on.

Also do not draw conclusions from a pair of examples, or an old Hogan book. Certainly no Cornish or broilers. To me, today, Cornish are ornamentals.

Large breeds should lay large to extra large eggs, and on down the line. Just because some do not means very little.

Like Bee, I think egg size should be reasonable, but reasonable for a 7lb hen with a good frame is pretty big.

I have never had any interest in jumbo sized eggs. Anything can go too far.

The opportunity with Standard bred fowl is conformation, attractive color, reasonable production levels, and overall balance. There is no better bird than a well bred bird that is still productive. Too me that is a gem. The total package, and a complete bird.

 

[gjensen]

Yep. My big ol' heavy WRs will lay a large egg every time~just like me they are built and have the capacity to produce a bigger offspring(my biggest was 10#). Actually, most all the different breeds I have and keep lay eggs about the same size. I think that uniform, grade A large egg is pretty standard for healthy chickens in their prime of laying life. The smallest eggs I get are from my smallest hens~a BA and a NH. The Dels, WRs, bigger BAs, RIR, Leghorn, etc., will all lay eggs that are pretty uniform in size.

I strive for a uniform egg and I keep an eye on any bird putting out excessively huge eggs and consistent double yolkers...this is a bird that usually won't have a long laying life and may develop laying issues or ovulation problems. It's kind of neat to get those kinds of eggs every now and again, but for the life of my layers I prefer to get that steady grade A large, perfectly shaped egg.

I am a little silly about egg uniformity. No misshapen eggs are going into my incubator. LOL.

One of the first things I learned about poultry breeding was how hard it was to improve egg quality. Once you have a flock laying oddly shaped eggs, it is near impossible to turn it around.

I was playing with a flock of NHs that laid elongated pointed eggs. I will never forget those eggs, because they bugged me to no end.

I still admire a nice uniform batch of eggs. I do not care about the color. I care about the shape, texture, and shell thickness. My wife thinks something is wrong with me, because I will stand over her while she cracks eggs for the frying pan. I want to see how the yolk sits, and what the whites do.

I am a little crazy about eggs.

I wish we could show eggs like they do in Europe. To me it is part of the bird's characteristics.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm that way too, to some degree. I really like to observe every aspect of the egg and like to see them perform well as eggs~even in that skillet. Like you I look for standing up, yolk size, color and clarity~and taste. Taste is very important to me. You can tell a lot about a flock by the nature of the eggs~health, diet, age. In the local schools the FFA have egg judging events and my son has won with our eggs. They judge on uniformity, air cell size, clarity, color, shell thickness and smoothness, etc.

 

[gjensen]

I can't be too picky with the Cats, but they are pretty good. As I move along, I will get a little fussier.

This is kind of an acquired hang up of mine. I was not always like this. Those NHs I mentioned brought that to my attention.

 

[3riverschick]

I have never had any interest in jumbo sized eggs. Anything can go too far.

The opportunity with Standard bred fowl is conformation, attractive color, reasonable production levels, and overall balance. There is no better bird than a well bred bird that is still productive. Too me that is a gem. The total package, and a complete bird.

Then there is the baking aspect too. When the size of the egg is 2 or more sizes from the size called for in the recipe, then the recipe needs to be adjusted. Most recipes call for a large egg. Extra large or medium will work as long as the recipes doesn't need a large number of eggs. But Jumbo is 2 sizes larger and the recipe needs adjusting to get correct results. They fry up nice tho.
Best,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

I wish we could show eggs like they do in Europe. To me it is part of the bird's characteristics.

Me too! Me too! They have egg shows for Sussex in Britain.
I showed my Marans eggs when I had them, won some nice ribbons.
Lotsa fun and a great way to get non-showers involved in the breed!
Simple and easy and cheap to do.
Best,
Karen

 

[hellbender]

I got an egg today that, in and of it's self, is not a 'monster' but the pullet that laid it is not more than 8 months old and actually, I feel a bit sorry for her.

I don't let these youngsters in with the laying flock 'til spring and I was there...almost when she laid it, so there is no doubt in my mind about who 'suffered' in this production.

It's big enough to be a 'tripple'. My customers would love this to be a very common occurrence (none will ever see it) but I won't put up with it.

The pullet is acting fine but this is the kind of situation that causes prolapse and if I see her lay another one or two, she gets the blade, as much for her sake as anything else. My cleaning gal is picking up 'essentials' a bottle of Turkey and when she gets back, I'll see if she will photo it with her phone.

 

[brahmabreeder]

When we had out hatchery birds we got a few that had a tiny bit of blood on the shell. Too much stretching I guess

.