It is my opinion that 200 eggs in a year is a good balanced number. I do not see 200 as a high number. Also the 200 number is just a number used to illustrate an idea.I have a question about selecting for egg production.
I read that high producing egg layers only last for a couple years or so. Many dual purpose old breeds will keep laying many more years than that, yet they don't lay as many eggs in a year.
So, my question is, if you have a Standard bred dual purpose breed and you select toward better egg production, will they lay 200 eggs a year for only a couple years? Or will they lay 200 eggs a year for many years?
In other words, are you increasing total egg production for the life of the hen?
That is kind of what I was trying to communicate. My position would be that I expect my hens to be good layers, but I have no desire to see birds burned out on the extreme end of it. On the other hand, the last thing I would want is a hen that is a poor layer over a long life. She would have been useless enough to begin with. She certainly would not help her breed's case any.
And no a bird that lays 200 eggs in her hen year will not keep laying 200 eggs. The quantity will decline year to year, and I think that is acceptable and expected.
Increasing total egg production and the life of the hen? Depends on the hen, and how long she lives, and how long you chose to keep her.
This is in part why I mentioned my thoughts. My focus is the main points. When they come into lay, when they molt, how long it takes them to molt, and egg size.
A breed that should come into lay around 24wks., but takes 32-34 weeks is starting to lay so late that she may wait until Feb. before she really gets going. If that extends her life . . .well, I do not want it extended. And I do not think she is any more likely to live longer anyways. Then if she only lays medium sized eggs and is a large to extra large breed, she is eating a lot of feed to do what little she is. In fact she is prone to getting fat, laying less, and having a short life.
Molting later instead of earlier is not going to take years off of her life. The season is just extended a bit.
And if they lay 200 eggs early in life . . . .(this is how I picture my Cats) . . . 220-180 first year. 200-160 second year. 160-140 third year. 140-120 fourth year. If I had something along these lines in a hen of mine, I would be tickled. And they all do not have to be at that level. It would be unreasonable to expect some breeds to do that.
There are some breeds that do not live long and are very poor layers. I think concerning life and longevity, the extremes should be avoided. Whether it physical extremes, or performance extremes.