Laying life Point-of-Lay hybrids

TinaMG · Post by **TinaMG** » 21 Aug 2016, 18:58

Silly question no.2345672638483
Ball park figure please.. what is the laying life of a hybrid chook? I know there are 100's of variables however... I'm trying to plan my flock and when to add to it (and what type of birds of course), so general is fine.
Thanks in advance

Post by **p.penn** » 21 Aug 2016, 20:05

Hmmm, as you can imagine, this is not an exact science! I would say they will lay well for 18 months, then maybe slow down a bit. From about 3-4 yrs, any eggs are s bonus!

Mind you, having said that, I had a new Point-of-Lay earlier in the year, she has gone broody twice (no eggs) and isn't laying at the moment! Also pure breeds are less likely to lay in the winter, and as all chooks have a finite number of eggs in them, they will stay in lay for more years.

Personally, as I only have 4 hens, ideally I aim to get 2 new ones every two years, so I always have eggs.

Grannyof4 · Post by **Grannyof4** » 22 Aug 2016, 07:17

Having had all sorts over 25yrs of chicken keeping....who knows. The egg laying machines as P.Penn says around 18 months and then have a break. At present I have a crested legbar who is about 6 yrs old and came back into lay a few months ago, much to my amazement, and lays every other day at the moment.

lancashire lass · Post by **lancashire lass** » 22 Aug 2016, 13:19

I was a little bit more "scientific" with my first little flock of 4 (each a different hybrid breed) and they performed much as the books say - once the egg laying starts, the numbers are varied week to week until they finally peaked (that is 100% laying) when every hen was laying an egg every day at about 12-15 weeks from Point-of-Lay and lasted about 3 months. Thereafter, the numbers still kept fairly high and consistent for the next 15 months (not 100% as at the peak but still a good 75-95% of the maximum) but then it dramatically slumped as the girls went through moulting at different times. This seems on par with what the others say.

Moulting also seemed to trigger a different pattern of laying too - some stopped altogether for a good rest, while one or two kept going but the egg laying was definitely down to about 25-40% of the peak and started to become more seasonal rather than a linear decline when plotted against age. Some days there would be a little cluster of eggs in the nest box, other days none at all. Unfortunately I have lost a couple of girls so the data has stopped, but believe it or not, my two remaining 3 and half year olds have started laying daily eggs again LOL. Eggs seem a little smaller too but still on the large size.

If planning a continuous supply of eggs, I think for hybrids you need to add some new stock every 12-18 months. As the new girls start to peak, that's when the older girls egg laying can start to be erratic - you might end up with loads one week, or relying on the new girls the following week.

bikesandbirdsbob · Post by **bikesandbirdsbob** » 22 Aug 2016, 13:58

Hi ,from my 30 plus girls I was getting 20 eggs now I get about 8 to a dozen . Enough to feed the flock so I am happy.
Big question is are they pets or egg layers. I take the eggs as a bonus (Miss them when not there though ) Not a question of replacing them but finding the girls a good home.
I would go for new egg layers at 18 months .
Bob (Industry standard.)