Hit 12 eggs in one day from my flock and I think that's too many for 6 hens

Everyone says you want high production but when I got 12 eggs from my 6 Rhode Island Reds in a single day last spring it felt overwhelming. I ended up giving away 8 of them to neighbors who didn't even ask for them. Anyone else think people overhype the need for max egg output?

3 comments

3 Comments

terry_barnes18d ago

Read somewhere that back in the old days folks expected maybe 150 eggs a year from a hen, not 300 like we breed for now. I got 14 from my 5 Wyandottes once and scrambled half of them for a big breakfast, ended up feeding half to the dogs anyway. It's like people think you gotta max out production or you're doing something wrong, but honestly I'd rather have a hen that lays 200 solid eggs a year and doesn't burn out by age two. My neighbor bragged about her Leghorns hitting 320 a year but half died from reproductive issues by year three, so what's the point of all that output if the bird can't even handle it long term?

noranguyen18d ago

Glad you said this. Bred my own line of barred rocks for the past six years. Culled hard on production but also on longevity. Got hens laying five years strong now. They don't hit 300 but they hit 200-220 every single year without issues.

the_jessica18d ago

The 150 eggs a year thing is close but not quite right. Old farm flocks in the 1800s averaged closer to 100-120 eggs per year, not 150, because they didn't have the nutrition or breeding we do now. It's true though that industrial breeding went way overboard, like you said with those Leghorns burning out by year three. I'd take a hen that gives me 180-200 eggs for four years over one that puts out 320 for a year and a half any day. Your neighbor's bragging about her Leghorns doesn't mean much when half the flock is dead from egg binding before they hit their prime.