I've a feeling I already know the answer that most of you will give, but thought I would ask anyway
I have a young light sussex pullet, hatched in March, commenced lay July. She is still producing very small eggs (I can only sell them as bantam sized) despite now having been laying for almost three months. She can lay bigger eggs as has produced a couple of double yolkers, but then goes back to her usual small ones. Most hens usually only take a month to get up to "normal" size.
She is a very nice young hen, fit and healthy and lays every single day, but frankly, not much use to me as I have a horde of bantams that lay the same size egg and obviously don't eat as much, and because of this "fault" I will not be breeding from her. She has a younger full sister (same parents, later hatch) who has yet to start laying. All her other siblings were male.
I think ultimately I will move her on to someone who accepts her fault and will be happy to have her as a pet, the question is when. Should I continue to feed her through the winter while I wait to see if the sister produces a similar egg (thus proving a breeding fault) or get rid of her now?
If the sister also lays small eggs then I have a fault within the parent stock and then have to work out which one carries it by put the parents to different partners in the Spring. The hen lays a large egg and is worth keeping just as a layer even if I can't breed from her any more, whereas I will eat the cock if he turns out to be the duff one. Not sure I want to feed him through the winter though only to find out he is the one at fault.
I have a young light sussex pullet, hatched in March, commenced lay July. She is still producing very small eggs (I can only sell them as bantam sized) despite now having been laying for almost three months. She can lay bigger eggs as has produced a couple of double yolkers, but then goes back to her usual small ones. Most hens usually only take a month to get up to "normal" size.
She is a very nice young hen, fit and healthy and lays every single day, but frankly, not much use to me as I have a horde of bantams that lay the same size egg and obviously don't eat as much, and because of this "fault" I will not be breeding from her. She has a younger full sister (same parents, later hatch) who has yet to start laying. All her other siblings were male.
I think ultimately I will move her on to someone who accepts her fault and will be happy to have her as a pet, the question is when. Should I continue to feed her through the winter while I wait to see if the sister produces a similar egg (thus proving a breeding fault) or get rid of her now?
If the sister also lays small eggs then I have a fault within the parent stock and then have to work out which one carries it by put the parents to different partners in the Spring. The hen lays a large egg and is worth keeping just as a layer even if I can't breed from her any more, whereas I will eat the cock if he turns out to be the duff one. Not sure I want to feed him through the winter though only to find out he is the one at fault.
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