Many eggs all at once or over a period of time?

[K813ZRA]

You might start by looking at Henderson's chicken breeds chart. Heritage quality birds are most likely to give you what you are looking for. Consider this: hatcheries are cranking out just as many chicks of a particular breed as they can. So, they are focused on using breeders that are heavy layers, sometimes to the exclusion of focus on other desirable traits: longevity, personality, feather quality conformity to breed standard. If you choose a breed, then find a quality breeder, you may end up with birds that are longer lived, perhaps lay less eggs/week, but more eggs/life time.

I hadn't heard of that chart, looking at it now. It seems more detailed than everything else I have found.

 

[lazy gardener]

Happy hunting.

 

[jpalmatier83]

This is all very interesting. I'll check out the chart.

I do appreciate the insight.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I wish you luck in your quest. I find this site to be a good companion to the Henderson Breed Chart. When you are considering a chicken, go see what they look like.

Feathersite
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html#Chickens

I’ll enclose the answer I got from the college professor about the ova running out. He specializes in poultry reproduction at one of the top three poultry science universities in the country.

Yes, a young Pullet chick hatches with a determinant number of follicles on her left ovary that are possible to be developed to become one of the yolk or ova in an egg. Only the left ovary develops in most avian species so anything on the right ovary never develops and is of no use. So can a hen theoretically 'run out of' potential follicles? Yes she can and this does occur on occasion. It happens often in parrots that may live 70, 80 or even up to 100 years of age. These hens that run out of follicles are referred to as 'slick hens' as the ovaries are often checked by veterinarians and confirmed that they are indeed 'slick' hens with 'slick ovaries' that have no more follicles to develop.

So does this happen often in chickens? Not really that often because most of our domestic chickens do not live long enough to run out of follicles, they 'run out of gas' in other ways much sooner. This could be some other disease or infection or condition related to extended periods of laying that might either cause death or an inability to produce and develop proper shells on an egg.

So in short, yes it's possible but unlikely for a chicken to become 'slick' and run out of follicles.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I always enjoy these discussion, however again it seems some people think if you use lights in the winter, your hens never get a break or never molt. I have used lights all winter for 23 years & never had a hen NOT take a break from laying to molt. If people want to pay the same amount for food each year & get less eggs, that's fine, but hens do molt under lights & you are not hurting your hen by using lights!

 

[lazy gardener]

I always enjoy these discussion, however again it seems some people think if you use lights in the winter, your hens never get a break or never molt. I have used lights all winter for 23 years & never had a hen NOT take a break from laying to molt. If people want to pay the same amount for food each year & get less eggs, that's fine, but hens do molt under lights & you are not hurting your hen by using lights!

I did not use lights my first year, but have done so every year since then. However, I don't start my lights until October when their production drops way down. I may start lights earlier this year. I agree that in the long term, it really doesn't matter. If the flock has good nutrition, I'd rather get eggs all winter than feed them for months on end with nothing for my frying pan!