When you breed for show, or just to improve the lines, does it effect

[Alaska animal lover]

Does it effect egg production? I'm just curious. Say your most beautiful girls are pretty lousy layers, or...infrequent, but you use her to breed, and only hatch her eggs. Do you think production is an inherited thing? I honestly don't know, so be kind.

I LOVE, love some of these fantastic color projects some of you have going on, but for me personally, they need to give me eggs!

 

[Illia]

I believe egg production IS affected. But that doesn't make for a seriously lousy layer. . . Not even my Polish are "lousy layers" even though they're deemed to have a poor laying habit, and are only "ornamental." But, with birds like, say, Tolbunt Polish - Their lack of egg production makes up for in other ways, such as their worth and their beauty. Plus, that's why you always have other birds around to make up for the production, like my Marans, Ameraucanas, and Araucanas.

I like a challenge, and I like a breed in which I have to focus on both quality of egg and physical bird, but not exactly quantity of egg - That's a hatchery's job.

I think that if I had an amazing hen, who only laid eggs every now and then, . . . She's still worth it.

When it comes to breeding, there's always, in my opinion, having to be the "layer hens" and the "breeding hens" - The layer hens are the lower quality but still make the grade you call for, so they give eating eggs. Then there's the breeding hens - The girls who may or may not lay well, but who cares. . . Their eggs are primarily for hatching or selling.

I have plenty enough "layer-grade" Ameraucanas, Araucanas, Marans, and simply hatchery quality hens to make up for my "pick of the flock's" egg production.

 

[Alaska animal lover]

Thank you Illia.

 

[Hillside]

Since most Standards are worked up with some idea of utility in mind IN THEORY we should be able to breed to that Standard and have at least reasonably useful birds. We need to remember what the original purpose of the different breeds was and go from there. Selection from hopefully good quality foundation stock is a huge factor. If you CHOOSE to use lousy layers for any reason where this is a negative then I don't think you can blame the Standard. It's the selection. Granted, you may not have much to work with giving you no good choices. Sometimes it's better to do a buttload of research and start over with stuff that is more likely to help you achieve your own goals. There's also the idea that wanting it so doesn't make it fact. If the only stock you can find to start with has been bred using different selection criteria than your own you are kind of stuck with that background and might struggle to get anything very different. People start with junk saying "I'll select for...whatever" and in reality you can't select characteristics that don't exist.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Egg laying frequency and most egg quality characteristics are inherited. If egglaying is your goal, you should select for that. I try very hard to keep hens that are not decent layers or that lay a deformed egg out of my breeding flock.

We all have different goals. Good egg layers make great pets and can be great to look at, but they are not always the ones that most conform to standards for judging. Egg laying is not judged at the shows, so it is not a factor if you are trying to breed a grand champion.