Egg hatching question

Hi everyone,

Now that my incubator has arrived, my mind is starting to gear up for hatching season!

Here is my question. I have my young hens who will be about 9 months old in March when I want to start collecting eggs for hatching. I also have some hens that will be 22 months old at that time. The older hens lay bigger eggs and I am inclined to use those ones for hatching...as I'm thinking bigger eggs will translate into bigger chicks and thus bigger chickens...which I want to promote at this time.

However...what about egg quality deterioration due to the hens being older? Will there actually be an advantage to using the larger eggs from the older chickens for hatching, or should I be using the smaller eggs from the younger hens?

All things being equal both the young and the old hens have the same chance of fertilization so I doubt there is a difference in viability. As well, bantam chicks from bantam eggs are equally vigorous to large fowl so I don't think egg size should matter. The resulting chick should grow to the potential it's genetics give it, so I doubt larger or smaller size at birth will make much of a difference.

What will make a difference is your older hens have longevity and are mature. They may be a preferred choice to breed because you know they have disease resistance and are not likely to fade and die as pullets. As well, since they are mature, you can select your breeders for traits you wish to pass on.