Egg size = Chicken size?

[KyleelyK]

Hey, I wanted to incubate some eggs, but some are small. I am aiming for larger chickens. Does the size of the egg determine the overall size of the chicken?

 

[R2elk]

Hey, I wanted to incubate some eggs, but some are small. I am aiming for larger chickens. Does the size of the egg determine the overall size of the chicken?

No. Pullet eggs can be small but if they are from a large fowl breed those small eggs (if viable) can produce large chickens.

I have a small hen that lays extra large to jumbo sized eggs so her great big eggs are not going to produce big chickens. If you want big chickens, hatch eggs that are from a large sized breed of chickens.

 

[azygous]

No. But with small eggs, you run a risk of the embryo running out of room to develop and being crushed before it can pip.

In this case, large is better.

 

[DR ARNETT]

small chickens-small eggs- largest egg hatched usually largest chicken. large hen w/ small roster larger egg than hen rosters size breed up. or get fertilized black astrolorpe [ can't spell] or even bigger breeds eggs from a friend. best to get nearby as fertilized eggs do not travel well. set ur own biggest eggs first to practice hatching them then get eggs from the big chicken u like. good luck, GBA

 

[R2elk]

small chickens-small eggs- largest egg hatched usually largest chicken.

From personal experience I can confirm that this is not true. White Leghorns are small chickens but very commonly lay extra large to jumbo sized eggs. Their biggest eggs are easily equal to or bigger than eggs from a Light Brahma. The huge eggs from a purebred White Leghorn will never produce as big a chicken as large eggs from a Light Brahma will produce.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I disagree with the previous poster and DO believe egg size effects overall size of your bird. For this reason I don't hatch pullet eggs.

Even from the same breed, bigger egg is going to give you a bigger embryo than a smaller egg from the same bird. Bigger embryo equals bigger chick. But they still will be within the range of their breed standard. And hens pass their size to females and males to males. So selecting a larger breeding cock won't give you larger hens, is my understanding. Selecting a larger hen will give you larger females.

Incubating uniform size eggs are preferred. Forgetting the super large and the super small for hatch-ability.

To me if you constantly hatch pullet eggs, you will eventually end up with bantam size. But that being said when I think about teenagers and young girls giving birth, it's true the genetic material for size is there no matter what size you start out at. But you may never be able to reach that potential given other environmental factors. Smaller birds need less energy to sustain so will eat less and grow less than it's fatter counterpart... Think premie babies are often underweight for a large part of their lives.

In other words, hmmm... so many variables and things to consider.

Most the time the larger eggs (of the same breed) are stronger hatchers in my experience.

Good question and conversation!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

From personal experience I can confirm that this is not true. White Leghorns are small chickens but very commonly lay extra large to jumbo sized eggs. Their biggest eggs are easily equal to or bigger than eggs from a Light Brahma. The huge eggs from a purebred White Leghorn will never produce as big a chicken as large eggs from a Light Brahma will produce.

True but a larger leghorn egg will hatch a larger leghorn than a smaller one... right?

 

[R2elk]

True but a larger leghorn egg will hatch a larger leghorn than a smaller one... right?

It will hatch a larger chick but not likely a larger chicken when fully grown. As you correctly pointed out in your previous post, genetic and environmental factors do apply. Of course hatching a larger chick does give the chick a head start on the smaller ones.

 

[Akrnaf2]

X2
One thing if I may, one should aime to eggs that are roughly the same size because the S/V (surface to volume ratio) is grately depending on the size, and the S/V is one of the most important things that influence on the gas and heat excange from and to the egg.
The size of the egg is influenced from genetics and the age of the hen.

 

[Chickassan]

Personally I think it depends on breed and egg size. Let's use faverolles as an example, big bird small egg no matter what you're getting a big bird even though the egg is small. No way would I attempt hatching a pullet egg off them poor thing mature eggs are already cramped as a Japanese apartment.