Breeds with the longest laying life?

[JDelage]

Hi - I've found plenty of info on which breeds are prolific or not during their prime years. What I'm curious about is: what breeds have the longest laying life? As a soon-to-be urban chicken owner, this is actually more relevant to me.

Thanks,

JD

 

[redsoxs]

Not sure if there is a definitive answer but this old BYC link addresses the same question you ask.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/427289/which-breed-lays-the-longest
Hope it helps!

 

[Wyatt0224]

A chickens prime egg laying years are 1-2 but after that depending on the breed you can still get a fair amount of eggs in a week. Also you can double that by getting more hens.

 

[M Claire]

Hello all, I am bumping this thread. I am interested in the notion of hens that lay less per year, but more over time. Does that exist? One of the commenters on this thread said that since birds are born with their lifetime amount of eggs, they can either use them up quickly in a short burst of a 2-3 years or slowly over their lifetime. Does anyone know if that is true?

For example, if we compared a standard little red hen who is laying a lot and not taking many breaks with a pekin (aka cochin bantam) who is regularly taking breaks to brood, would the pekin produce longer over time?

 

[Acre4Me]

Hello all, I am bumping this thread. I am interested in the notion of hens that lay less per year, but more over time. Does that exist? One of the commenters on this thread said that since birds are born with their lifetime amount of eggs, they can either use them up quickly in a short burst of a 2-3 years or slowly over their lifetime. Does anyone know if that is true?

For example, if we compared a standard little red hen who is laying a lot and not taking many breaks with a pekin (aka cochin bantam) who is regularly taking breaks to brood, would the pekin produce longer over time?

Chickens have more eggs in them than they will use in their lifetime. So, even if one takes a break to brood, in addition to molting, it will still die at whatever time. There are general breed differences like a production bird that is bred genetically to pop out a bunch of eggs reliably for 2 years, vs a heritage breed that often lays longer, but less often. Then there are lines within a breed that might have been selected for laying longevity. I recall a thread on here that indicated a particular breeder would only hatch eggs from layers that were 5 years old or older - thus putting laying longevity into their flock.