[brookegard]

  can anyone confirm as to which offer the best laying service hybrids or pure bred, have been reading up and so much conflicting views :blink:

[Oakdalebirds1]

Hello

I have a mix of both pure and hybrid and each has its own rewards the pure breed will lay longer than a hybrid . th ehybrid eggs tend to be alittle bigger but that can give the hens a few problems.

if you want only eggs eggs eggs then go Hybrid however i would mix your flock i get 4 or 5 eggs a day from 7 mixed hens.

I hope that helps but one of the more experianced will offer other advice for you .

Goog luck

[Casey76]

Hi Brookegard,

In order to answer your question, first you need to know a little about the anatomy of a hen.

Each pullet is hatched with a finite amount of ova (yolks in this case).

So while a hybrid has been specifically selected to produce eggs fast and reliably (and has also been selected to not go broody and interrupt the laying) it also means that she quickly becomes "spent" and uses up all of her available yolks more quickly than a pure breed.

A pure breed may not lay quite so prolifically (3-4 eggs per week compared to 5-6 eggs per week) but they do tend to lay for longer (5-8 years compared to 2-3 years).

If you really want a lot of eggs, the you should probably look at the production red hens (ISA browns/Warrens) (for brown eggs) or commercial leghorns (for white eggs) that are used in the big factory farms.  You will need to replace them every 18 months to 2 years to get the top production out of them though.

[feelingbroody]

Great answer Casey, I have learned from that

Thank you 

[Casey76]

You're welcome

[brookegard]

i knew i could rely on experience again thank you all so much

[Sassy]

If you do go for a mix of hybrid and pure breeds it is best to ensure they are either all vaccinated or none of them are.

[brookegard]

 :wacko:thank you sassy, will bear that in mind