Egg Laying – What Are the Best Chicken Breeds for Eggs?

Settembre 8, 2020 admin 0 commenti

Choosing a breed of chicken for eggs is not that hard of a choice if you know what you’re looking for. You only need to ask yourself a few easy questions. Do I need white or brown eggs? Do I need a pet or livestock? How much space do I have? Do I want to hatch more chickens?

Hybrid / Golden Comet

If you are looking to get the most out of your effort, hybrid chickens like the Golden Comet have been specially bred to eat less food and produce more eggs. The comet isn’t the only hybrid chicken but it is definitely the most popular. These hybrid chickens lay about 280 medium sized brown colored eggs per year. Hybrids are tough little creatures that are more resilient to infection and disease compared to other chicken breeds. The downside is these birds rarely turn broody so if you’re looking to hatch new chickens from the eggs this breed is probably not the best choice.

Rhode Island Red’s (RIR’s)

RIR’s lay about 250 medium brown eggs per year. This breed is the most popular amongst backyard chicken and first-time chicken owners. Reds are known as the multi-purpose bird. These birds are known for taking care of themselves. Reds are docile friendly chickens that farmers use for meat and eggs, besides their beautiful coloring, this is the reason they are so popular.

Leghorn

Foghorn Leghorn, still a funny cartoon. Other than their brilliant white stance, that cartoon is probably the reason they are still so popular to this day. Many people believe that Leghorns originated in America, unfortunately, this is not true. This breed was brought to the United States in the 1800’s and has been a popular farm bird ever since. Leghorn chickens originated in Italy and lay about 250 medium white eggs per year. This breed is not known to be aggressive but Leghorns aren’t known to be friendly either. They are a skittish breed that isn’t really easy to tame because of their shy nature.

Marans

The Maran chicken breed is well known for its dark brown eggs and its excellent meat quality. These birds lay about 200 medium sized eggs per year. Marans require very little space to roam because they like to stay close to home. They are known to be very gentle birds but, are not that easy to tame due to their shyness. So this breed wouldn’t make the best pet without a lot of work handling and spending time with it. Still, a pretty bird, an “eggcellent” egg layer and meat bird. A great addition to any farm or flock too!

Buff Orpington

Last but far from the least the Buff Orpington breed of chicken. The Orpington are docile birds that make a great garden and friendly pets. These birds love to socialize and will hang out with you and eat food from your hand without much effort. Buff’s have a thick layer of yellowish golden feathers and lay about 180 regular sized and white eggs a year. This breed is known for becoming broody and makes a great hatching hen. The excellent broodiness of this breed is the reason the buff lays slightly fewer eggs per year. Actually, this breed is so good at sitting on its eggs, the Buff is commonly used by farms to hatch the eggs of other poultry and fowl, like the domestic duck, that are terrible eggs hatchers.

What is the best chicken breed for eggs?

In conclusion, the best breed of chicken for eggs depends on what your needs are. Do you need a broody hen? The Orpington is perfect. The Golden Comet chicken is perfect if you need a lot of eggs with minimal effort and food. Rhode Island Reds if you’re looking for a friendly pet. The Maran chicken breed is your choice if you have limited space. Do you need only white eggs? Leghorns produce the best quantity of medium sized white eggs.

Source by James K