Does having a rooster decrease the size of eggs? My hens all seem to be laying fairly small eggs. My sister in law has a flock with pretty much the same breeds as me, same age, same feed/feeding regimen, on same property about 100 yards apart. The gesso from her flock are not only more plentiful but much larger. The only difference is that I have a rooster and she doesn't. Any ideas or suggestions would be great.
No- egg size of course increases as the pullet ages. The first eggs are called "pullet eggs" since they are small. Protein in the feed matters too. So if you are giving lots of scratch that can affect egg size (smaller). Scratch is lower in protein than the layer feed. Having a rooster can increase the stress in a flock if he is acting ornery with them. But egg size will be related to the dietary intake of the hen. So if they aren't eating enough, just to stay away from the rooster, that could do it.
Are your chickens and your sisters chicken from the same hatch? Different lines of the same breed can mature at different rates.
Most of them came from the same breeder last spring, she got a few from Tractor Supply which I didn't do. They've got a hanging free choice feeder that is kept full as well as free choice oyster shell and we give them lots of scraps, veggies, shells, breads, cereals, etc. I've never seen the rooster be exceptionally aggressive which is why we've kept him this long, he's actually very mild mannered. Another difference is that her yard is about 6' x 12' while my yard is more like 20' x 30' we each have about 12 hens. Here's another wierd example. We each have two americanas that we picked up a day apart last spring and at around Labor Day were both getting one or two Easter eggs each day. At around tha time the weather cooled and the americanas stopped. I've yet to get another "Easter egg" while hers started back up months ago. Again, thanks for any insights or suggestions.
