Question about egg-a-day...

[Chicabee19]

This question has been forming in my brain for a few days... I hope I can state it so it is clearly understood!

Did the original ancestor chickens go broody every time they got a good clutch of eggs laid, then wait to lay again until the chicks had grown to a suitable size?

Cause I can't see why they would lay an egg a day if they only went broody occasionally to hatch out chicks, or why they would continue to lay if they were raising chicks.

If they did not go broody every time they got a good clutch together, what did they do with those daily eggs they did not set?

 

[redoak]

I'm guessing that certain traits in chickens were breed for and other traits were breed out of chickens. For example Canadian geese will lay another clutch of eggs if the first clutch gets eaten/destroyed. Over a few thousand generations you have your egg-a-day.

 

[Chicabee19]

I was wondering if some eggs were actually used as food when a hen was not broody or had chicks to feed.