What chicken do you guys think suits my needs?

I would suggest Black Australorps.

You might have a bit too high of expectation of the laying capacity of chickens.  They are born with so many ova.  They can either dole them out super fast (hybrids like sex-links), or slowly over the course of a long time (Heritage breeds). 

Either way,hens will lay roughly the same amount of eggs over their lifetime.  It's just the pace that varies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pele 

You might have a bit too high of expectation of the laying capacity of chickens.  They are born with so many ova.  They can either dole them out super fast (hybrids like sex-links), or slowly over the course of a long time (Heritage breeds). 

 

Either way,hens will lay roughly the same amount of eggs over their lifetime.  It's just the pace that varies.

x2

Could not have said it better!

I mentioned the BA's above since they lay eggs every day AND they have a nice temperament.

Thanks AlienChick :)

By the way, every time I see your avatar, I have to stare.  Your birds are so pretty they look unreal!  Like a carved statue!

Thanx, Pele.

I, too, enjoy staring at my avatar.

I only WISH they were my birds all posed perfectly and ready to take an awesome picture.

I got that avatar from one of those free avatar websites. Fell in love with it the first time I saw it!

That's a cool tool....even though I'm not in the market (who isn't?) I visit the breed selector occasionally....

You could ask a 1000 people and get a 1000 different answers. While most breeds have baselines , there are always and I mean always exceptions. One person might tell you that XXXX is a great layer and great temperament and that might be true. But there is someone out there that will tell you different about that breed and that this breed is great. And so on and so on....... If there is one thing I have learned is that every chicken is different. From laying cycle and temperament, whether same breed or not. Go with your gut and what appeals to you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by questions543 

I am looking for a a chicken that lays super/amzingly well for a long time ( so not a sexlink or hybrid), looks good and has a great temperment?

Thanks

By great temperament, do you mean a hen that won't run away from you, will allow you to pick her up, or what? All breeds of chickens will slow down with laying eggs as they get older.

There are individual differences, but there are general traits that can be found in a breed of chicken.

For brown eggs, you should look at Black Australorp and Rhode Island Red. Both of these breeds will lay an average of 5 eggs a week in the first year.

For white eggs, you should look at the Leghorn. I like the brown varieties, and this is a better color for free ranging because they can avoid predators better. Leghorns can also fly short distances to avoid predators. Leghorns will lay an average of about 6 eggs a week in the first year.