Tips on breeding for egg production?

[drangle]

Hey everyone. I am looking for tips on how to breed for egg production. So far my attempts have been to simply hatch the largest best looking eggs I have.

I have 14 hens and I suspect 2 or 3 of them are not the best layers. Also many of them lay medium size eggs and I am looking for large or jumbo.

The issue is I have no idea what hens are poor layers or who is laying what eggs.

Any tips and advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[NatJ]

One idea: see which size & shape eggs you get the most of, and hatch those. They probably come from your best layers.

Another idea: pick a time of year when most hens stop laying but a few are still going. Hatch the eggs laid at that time.

Hey everyone. I am looking for tips on how to breed for egg production. So far my attempts have been to simply hatch the largest best looking eggs I have.

I have 14 hens and I suspect 2 or 3 of them are not the best layers. Also many of them lay medium size eggs and I am looking for large or jumbo.

Yes, if you want bigger eggs, it makes sense to hatch the bigger eggs.

But be aware of one thing: each hen will tend to lay bigger eggs as she gets older. So if you have hens of different ages, and you hatch the biggest eggs, you might just be hatching the eggs from older hens. That would not help choose hens that lay bigger eggs in their first year (but it might select for hens that still lay well when they are older, which is another trait you might like.)

The issue is I have no idea what hens are poor layers or who is laying what eggs.

Most eggs get laid in the morning, so if you are able to spend a few hours watching one day, you might get some answers.

If you really want to know, you can put one hen at a time in a cage, and see what egg she produces. This will at least give you an idea of what size and shape eggs are coming from who.

If you have a time when some hens are laying and some hens are not, you can check to see who is still laying:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/
Start by comparing a chicken you know is not laying (like the rooster) with one that most likely is laying (like the hen with the reddest big comb). If the differences are obvious, then you are ready to check the other hens and figure them out.

People sometimes recommend putting food coloring in the vent of a particular hen, to mark the egg when it is laid. When I have tried that, it sometimes worked and sometimes did not. Sometimes the hen would lay an egg without it getting marked (easy to tell if every hen lays, and no eggs are marked.) If the egg did get marked, the eggs might be marked for the next day or two as well. So it's something you could try if you want, but it may or may not actually work for you. Of course you can do several hens at once with different colors.

 

[Penpal]

How many eggs you get will be determined by the rooster. Use a rooster from a breed that is known for laying more eggs.

 

[NatJ]

How many eggs you get will be determined by the rooster. Use a rooster from a breed that is known for laying more eggs.

Yes, that is a very good point, that is easy to forget.

Every single chick is getting half its genes from the rooster, so his genes for egg production are more important than the genes from any single hen.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hey everyone. I am looking for tips on how to breed for egg production. So far my attempts have been to simply hatch the largest best looking eggs I have.

I have 14 hens and I suspect 2 or 3 of them are not the best layers. Also many of them lay medium size eggs and I am looking for large or jumbo.

The issue is I have no idea what hens are poor layers or who is laying what eggs.

Any tips and advice is greatly appreciated.

No wry or pinched tails is one trait to look out for. Body shape/length is another.. short squat or fat hens got no room for the reproductive organs. Think Cochin, in my experience will never lay large or jumbo eggs. They don't have that capability in their genetic makeup.

Egg size doesn't indicate productivity level (some of my silkie bantams laid 5 times per week while Marans were more like 3).. how often they are laid, coupled with size does a bit more accurately.. Color influences this some.. darker colored eggs take longer.. or do they? They do in my experience. (with exception to the Gold sex link I currently have).

Here's ONE chart for reference to (some) breeds expected egg size and production levels..

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Hopefully these have some sort of hands on detailed information regarding which birds to select for breeding rather than established breeds since that's what I think you're asking.. (I've seen some decent youtube videos on selecting for dual purpose or meat qualities.. should also be some for layer qualities) If you're just asking about selecting better already established breeds, that may be much easier to make some suggestions

https://poultry.extension.org/articles/poultry-anatomy/poultry-genetics-an-introduction/

https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1331&context=extension_circ

Ways commercial producers get larger eggs from the start and avoid pullet eggs (which draw less value) is through controlled lighting, nutrition, and genetics.. all combined.. Also tightly controlled hatch dates to make it all line up.. they use all in, all out systems. All the same breed, same age, same expectation. *Most* backyard flocks are not as tightly or easily managed.

Do you have certain breeds or any idea what they may be.. we may be even able to help you sort some things out.. for example.. most white eggs come from birds with white ear lobes. Or if you've got a Cochin or other known lower producers we might be able to identify them.. or even identify the known heavier producers. Are they all the same age, and how old is that right now? Have any gone broody or molted yet.. How often they do or how long it takes may heavily influence.. your outcome or rate of lay.. though I get size is still important.. I think I've demonstrated how other things might also need consideration.. Noting most pullets will produce through their first winter.. how long they spend in molt or out of production the following year is one of my questions.. like nat J suggested maybe hatching from the longer layers is a good choice. As a back yarder.. I think earlier production is awesome.. but also understand why that's sometimes selected against.

So much complexity is why I'm still interested in chickens.. I can never learn it all or know it all!

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Perhaps I am being a bit minimalist here, but since you live in America, could you not just buy a few good laying pullets and then add a few cockerels that are from good family?

 

[Mrs. K]

A high quality rooster is the best way to quickly inflence a flock. Combine that with culling older birds around three years of age will keep an active laying flock.