Brown Egg Layers questions...

WhiteMountainsRanch

Crowing
9 Years
Jun 19, 2010
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San Diego, CA
I am tossing around the idea of replacing my egg layers with a BETTER egg layer... brown eggs only. I can't keep up with my egg orders! So I have heard that ISA browns are the best brown egg layer... is this true? Also, what about sex-links? Aren't they supposed to be really good layers?

The ones I am looking at are; ISA Browns, Production Reds, brown sex-links, gold sex-links, gold comets, cinnamon queens, or Amberlinks... right?

1. So how do I know which one is the best layer?

2. Do the sex links lay better than the parents (example RIR) I don't see how the babies would lay better than the adults?




Thanks!
 
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There are some production red (RIR) that come close, but nothing is going to compete with the "mutts", a rather derogatory term for a hybrid.
The reason a hybrid (cross) "nicks" is a fact of nature loving diversity.

Any production hen, of ANY so-called strain, is really a mutt. That is, they simply are no longer pure bred, heritage type according to the standard, not even close. So, while a production red will breed "true" in that more production reds will be produced, it is itself a true breeding mutt. Hope that makes sense.

I keep some pure breds for my own enjoyment. But if eggs are what you are after, you'll never come within 50 eggs a year of the commercial hybrids. Nothing matches their feed conversion either.
 
My dominiques lay everyday
You may not be interested in those but they are my best layers other than EE
 
Fred's Hens :

There are some production red (RIR) that come close, but nothing is going to compete with the "mutts", a rather derogatory term for a hybrid.
The reason a hybrid (cross) "nicks" is a fact of nature loving diversity.

Any production hen, of ANY so-called strain, is really a mutt. That is, they simply are no longer pure bred, heritage type according to the standard, not even close. So, while a production red will breed "true" in that more production reds will be produced, it is itself a true breeding mutt. Hope that makes sense.

I keep some pure breds for my own enjoyment. But if eggs are what you are after, you'll never come within 50 eggs a year of the commercial hybrids. Nothing matches their feed conversion either.

So the "Commercial Hybrids" are really my best bet? Like a sexlink?​
 
If eggs is what you want and need, because of sales, (which is precisely my situation) and feed conversion is important to you (feed is increasingly expensive) then yes. Nothing will produce like an ISA Brown, or one of the other commercial hybrids. Nothing even close.

You may enjoy a few beautiful birds for your own pleasure. Nothing but delightful. But if you need X dozen of eggs a week for sales, and you wish to do that economically, then the sex link will fit the bill, and there are a number of good types from which to choose. The ISA is simply outstanding.

Another issue to discuss here is this. What can/do you charge for a dozen? At $4.00 you could likely keep almost breed you wish. At $2.50 a dozen, there is little choice. Not just for the number of eggs, but for the efficiency of feed conversion. Maybe the economics do not enter into your equation at all. I dunno.
 
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If you want lots and lots of eggs, yes.

You can breed them, but I'm guessing that the results will vary, or keep them for two years and get some more...

The ISA Browns you spoke of are red sex-links. I think everything that you mentioned were sex-links of some type or another, except for Production Reds.
 
Fred's Hens :

If eggs is what you want and need, because of sales, (which is precisely my situation) and feed conversion is important to you (feed is increasingly expensive) then yes. Nothing will produce like an ISA Brown, or one of the other commercial hybrids. Nothing even close.

You may enjoy a few beautiful birds for your own pleasure. Nothing but delightful. But if you need X dozen of eggs a week for sales, and you wish to do that economically, then the sex link will fit the bill, and there are a number of good types from which to choose. The ISA is simply outstanding.

Another issue to discuss here is this. What can/do you charge for a dozen? At $4.00 you could likely keep almost breed you wish. At $2.50 a dozen, there is little choice. Not just for the number of eggs, but for the efficiency of feed conversion. Maybe the economics do not enter into your equation at all. I dunno.

Yes! Eggs is what I want because I can't keep up with sales!
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I actually haven't even eaten an egg in weeks because we don't have any!
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So ISA browns are the exact same as red sex-links? Which hatchery is the best place to get them?

I don't mind if the offspring are different or inconsistent colors, I just need lots of eggs!
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Here we get $5.00 per dozen, but our feed and everything else is more expensive too.​
 
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ISA Browns are a specific strain of red sex-links. There are many; Bovans Brown, Hisex Brown, Tetra-Americana, Shaver Brown, Dekalb Brown, Babcock Brown, etc.

These are all commercial brown hybrids (red sex-links) that are available for commercial production. Here is an example of production statistics for the Bovans Brown:

http://www.centurionpoultry.com/bovansbrown.pdf

Which hatchery? I don't know. I buy ready-to-lay pullets from grower barns that get their chicks from Centurion Poultry, which uses a number of hatcheries.

http://centurionpoultry.com
 
I have had sex links for years. I was/am in the same situation as you. My hens couldn't lay enough eggs for the orders I had. My hens lay straight through the year. I keep them in 14 hours of light and I get almost an egg a day from each hen. With that said, after about 2 years, I start to notice a decline in production. I usually replace them at that point. Around here, with feed prices the way they are, if it doesn't give back, it doesn't stay around long. They do not breed true, but if you wanted your own, you could keep some parents around and hatch your own sex links. A RIR or NHR rooster over a delaware, white rock or rhode island white hen will produce a red sex link chick. They are sexable at hatch by their color. I use to get my chicks from Ideal. I now have a feed store close that sells point of lay hens for $7. I can't beat that.
 
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