Whats the best chickens for eggs?

[Shezadandy]

Your birds are too pretty to be EEs !!!! The blue is quiet unique. Cockerels can be pesty and probably shouldn't be around pullets until they or the pullets mature. Cockerels can really get beat up by the girls until they get past their first year. My friend had two cockerels that were mercilessly chased by the mature hens so she had to separate them out -- but it was kinda funny to watch!

The first picture in my post above has one of the EE's (brown) and an Australorp. The second and third pics are MPC's new "Super Blue Egg Layers" (SBEL) - so not EE's though they could probably be considered EE's in the general sense as blue egg gene carriers. I do like the look of the cockerel. Below are a couple different shots of him. The plan is to have a bachelor pad coop adjacent to the main coop and run, both for the sake of the cockerels with the big girls ... and for the sake of the same age pullets not getting mercilessly chased and ... experimented on ... by the 2 cockerels.

Hoping the SBEL pullets live up to their description - large blue eggs, 5-6 per week.

 

[Sylvester017]

The first picture in my post above has one of the EE's (brown) and an Australorp. The second and third pics are MPC's new "Super Blue Egg Layers" (SBEL) - so not EE's though they could probably be considered EE's in the general sense as blue egg gene carriers. I do like the look of the cockerel. Below are a couple different shots of him. The plan is to have a bachelor pad coop adjacent to the main coop and run, both for the sake of the cockerels with the big girls ... and for the sake of the same age pullets not getting mercilessly chased and ... experimented on ... by the 2 cockerels.

Hoping the SBEL pullets live up to their description - large blue eggs, 5-6 per week.

I've browsed MPC's website and I thought only Favaucanas were their baby but they have several blue egg and olive egg projects. I think it's a good idea because the Ameraucanas by themselves have so much lacking -- the breed really needs help. I've had 3 pure Ameraucanas from different breeders and my longest lived one only made it to 3 yrs and was a poor layer for how much she ate. Sweet temperament, good flockmate, nice family pet, but delicate health and not much use as a layer after her first year. Even egg sellers start processing their EEs after the first molt because so many of the birds eat more than they're worth in egg returns.

A sturdier, healthier, better blue egg layer or olive egger is a nice step in the right direction. Even Cream Legbars are having difficulty forming a good reputation for blue eggs since breeders seem to be concentrating more on SOP looks with egg production kinda taking a back seat. We gave up on Marans for dark eggs after being disappointed in the color and low production of the one we had and from reading a lot of other reviews I'm not alone in that experience. Wherever dark eggs are coming from it hasn't been the rule in the general Marans populace and too random to rely on the "Marans" name to guarantee even a mildly dark egg like is touted in descriptions of the breed. I don't envy breeders trying to reach these near-impossible standards which I think are set way too high to attain consistently.

Welsummers were considered the "other" dark egg layer but in recent years the output produced so many different shades and spots that now they are advertised as acceptable in all colors and patterns from dark to light to large or small spotted eggs because there is no consistency in dark egg layers. Our Marans would lay a half dark/half light brown egg one day, an all light egg a couple days later, and maybe 3 days later a light or brown egg with irregular speckles/splotches -- never the same egg each time she layed -- you'd think she was 3 different hens from collecting the eggs she layed -- but never did we see the kind of dark egg from her that shows up in photographs. To get a dark egg the eggshell has to move slow enough to absorb enough of the hen's dark pigment to color the eggs before it's layed. To me, a healthy bird is more important than trying to genetically engineer broodiness out of a breed or enhance a bird to lay eggs of abnormal size, color or abnormal frequent production.

I will probably wait a few years to watch the progress on the MPC blue egg projects before I consider investing in another blue egg layer. The project sounds more promising than the iffy chances of getting some random egg color from straight-run EEs. I think MPC is going in the right direction breeding such diversity in their blue eggers but it probably makes some pure Ameraucana or Cream Legbar breeders a little miffed?

 

[Rock Home Isle]

This summer heat has impacted egg production. My 4 layers were scooting along at a solid 3 or 4 eggs a day.

The first couple days of 90+ degrees, it dropped to 1 or 2 eggs a day for almost a week. Now we're back to 3 eggs a day at least for the past few days.

 

[sjturner79]

I've browsed MPC's website and I thought only Favaucanas were their baby but they have several blue egg and olive egg projects.  I think it's a good idea because the Ameraucanas by themselves have so much lacking -- the breed really needs help.  I've had 3 pure Ameraucanas from different breeders and my longest lived one only made it to 3 yrs and was a poor layer for how much she ate.  Sweet temperament, good flockmate, nice family pet, but delicate health and not much use as a layer after her first year.  Even egg sellers start processing their EEs after the first molt because so many of the birds eat more than they're worth in egg returns. 

A sturdier, healthier, better blue egg layer or olive egger is a nice step in the right direction.  Even Cream Legbars are having difficulty forming a good reputation for blue eggs since breeders seem to be concentrating more on SOP looks with egg production kinda taking a back seat.  We gave up on Marans for dark eggs after being disappointed in the color and low production of the one we had and from reading a lot of other reviews I'm not alone in that experience.  Wherever dark eggs are coming from it hasn't been the rule in the general Marans populace and too random to rely on the "Marans" name to guarantee even a mildly dark egg like is touted in descriptions of the breed.  I don't envy breeders trying to reach these near-impossible standards which I think are set way too high to attain consistently. 

Welsummers were considered the "other" dark egg layer but in recent years the output produced so many different shades and spots that now they are advertised as acceptable in all colors and patterns from dark to light to large or small spotted eggs because there is no consistency in dark egg layers.  Our Marans would lay a half dark/half light brown egg one day, an all light egg a couple days later, and maybe 3 days later a light or brown egg with irregular speckles/splotches -- never the same egg each time she layed -- you'd think she was 3 different hens from collecting the eggs she layed -- but never did we see the kind of dark egg from her that shows up in photographs.  To get a dark egg the eggshell has to move slow enough to absorb enough of the hen's dark pigment to color the eggs before it's layed.  To me, a healthy bird is more important than trying to genetically engineer broodiness out of a breed or enhance a bird to lay eggs of abnormal size, color or abnormal frequent production.

I will probably wait a few years to watch the progress on the MPC blue egg projects before I consider investing in another blue egg layer.  The project sounds more promising than the iffy chances of getting some random egg color from straight-run EEs.  I think MPC is going in the right direction breeding such diversity in their blue eggers but it probably makes some pure Ameraucana or Cream Legbar breeders a little miffed? 

The bigger problem with Marans is that many people who aren't breeders are selling birds as Marans that anyone who new what they are doing would just sell as a mixed breed.
Your right about Americana, but there are breeders to vet there trying to improve the useablilty of them.

 

[pauleberly]

Well that's discouraging. I have 3 marans (I'm pretty sure they are not mixed breeds) and was really hoping for that dark egg color

 

[cstronks]

Conditions will always dictate the number of eggs you get. If you provide additional light then you will get eggs because artificial lighting will encourage the hens to lay more. Leghorns are good layers, but they are not cold hardy at all, and this will likely impact their production.

For me, Rhode Island Reds / Sex links were the best layers in my flock. I generally received an egg a day from them. My sex link laid a very large brown egg, and was super reliable until the point where she suddenly dropped dead. She was lethargic for a few hours and then I found her dead. They are notorious for randomly dropping dead at any time. For this reason, the heritage Rhode Island Reds would be my suggestion - cold, hardy reliable.

Australorps, Wyandottes, and Orpingtons are all traditional egg layers that will get the job done. Look into them because they'll lay you healthy eggs and do so for many years.

I would avoid leghorns quite honestly. They are noisy, flighty, and in my opinion rather ugly. If you are raising a family flock, then you will certainly want to look into birds that are more tame.

Best of luck!

 

[aggiegirl009]

So I'm new to chickens, and was wanting to make a laying flock that consisted of some Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Ameraucanas, and Buff Laced Polish. Would this flock
a.) produce a significant amount of eggs
b.) get along, and
c.) stand the South Texas heat?

 

[Shezadandy]

So I'm new to chickens, and was wanting to make a laying flock that consisted of some Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Ameraucanas, and Buff Laced Polish. Would this flock
a.) produce a significant amount of eggs
b.) get along, and
c.) stand the South Texas heat?

A good place to go for getting a list of chickens that met your basic requirements is http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Especially-Heat-Hardy-c69.aspx -- it's a starting point with one of your most important requirements- heat tolerance.

 

[Shezadandy]

IMO I wouldn't think so- to me it's more like an expensive EE that "will" give large blue eggs which is a different thing all together than dealing with all the SOP stuff and the utility that seems to get lost as you mentioned- egg production taking a back seat. I don't say that in any sort of derogatory way, because coming up with a bird that lays 5-6 large blue eggs is a wonderful thing! Especially for folks that are just looking to get some more color and large eggs in the egg basket, it's an appealing middle ground instead of a grab bag of "maybes" in the EEs or jumping into another breed whose main focus isn't always the actual egg production.

 

[sjturner79]

So I'm new to chickens, and was wanting to make a laying flock that consisted of some Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Ameraucanas, and Buff Laced Polish. Would this flock
a.) produce a significant amount of eggs
b.) get along, and
c.) stand the South Texas heat?

I would be very doubtful of the amricuana and doubtful of the polish. I would suggest go for an EE rather than a pure americuana , and talk to a polish breeder about them. Rocks an RIR are both good layers and have similar temperament.