Best breed for egg production?

[newchickens2009]

(Hope I have this in the right place, if not I'm sorry) I want to get a good flock (50 or so) hens for my son, so he can sell eggs. What is the best to get, leghorns, r.i.reds, black or red sex links etc.? Also about how big of a coop should I build for that many hens?

 

[Freeholder]

Two questions first: what color eggs sells best in your area? White or brown? Leghorns lay white eggs; RIR's and sex links lay brown or tinted eggs. All of these types of chickens lay quite well (you'll want 'Production Reds' rather than show-stock RIR's if you go with them).

And do you want a self-contained breeding flock, or do you intend to replace your hens from a hatchery every year or two? If you want a self-contained breeding flock, you should get purebreds, as the sex-links won't breed true.

For space, you should figure about four square feet per hen in your coop, and about ten square feet per bird in the outdoor run. These are minimums -- more space is better if you can manage it.

Kathleen

ETA: if the object is to have some income from the flock, you really ought to get good quality purebreds, and breed to standard, so you can sell hatching eggs and chicks. They sell for more than a dozen eating eggs will.

 

[BarredBuff]

I would say Red Sex Links for brown eggs and Leghorns for white eggs. I would say a 15 by 12 coop maybe smaller.

 

[newchickens2009]

Thank you for your help and I will use it wisely!