Egg Production

[Miss Bockerton]

I am getting more chickens soon so i was wondering what was the best breed for egg production. I've heard that Rhode Island Reds are the biggest producers... is this true?

please help before I have to go get the chickens!!!

 

[ChicKat]

Have you looked into any of the hybrids? Golden sexlink, Golden comet, Red sexlink and Black sexlink will probably produce more eggs than RIR.

Often they are overlooked because they are not a breed, but rather a combination of breeds.

In the commercial poultry industry most white eggs are produced by Leghorns or leghorn hybrids and most brown eggs are produced by sexlinks.

 

[laura625]

That about sums that up as far as ive read. I dont have enough experience to add anything uaeful, but i do have a questiion.
Can i expect the offspring of the sexlink layers to lay as many eggs as their mothers? And lets say i had the right parents and hatched some golden comets. Id then get a roo that was the same hybrid. Would His chicks be as productivas. Hs sisters?

Just so this isnt a total hijack;
if you google. you can find expected laying rates of diff breeds.
I have australirp and tir so far, but they are kust pullets. They are b
Oth consistantly rated as above average layers.
I only dont have sexlinks because,I dont know for certain what the next generations will be like

 

[ChicKat]

To narrow down what could be a huge topic, let me say that a hybrid will not "breed true". If you had a golden sexlink rooster, and bred to a golden sexlink hen, you wouldn't get offspring that could be sexed at hatching time.

IF you had a rhode Island White hen, and a Rhode Island White rooster---all their chicks would be golden sexlinks...for all the generations of their chicks that you hatched. So as long as the parent stock lived, you could hatch out hybrids.

One of the reasons that they outlay the pure breeds is that the combination produces hybrid vigor....and they perform better statistically than both parent breeds would separately.

Henderson's chicken chart will give you laying rates, but they don't include hybrids. You may check the forum here----look for the type of hybrid.

I had a golden sexlink hen -- she daily produced an extra large or jumbo egg....she was amazing. I must add that her 246-egg production of non-stop daily laying began in April when I got her. I don't know how many she laid in the first few months of that year.

ETA
whoops I just read this again and I meant to say Rhode Island Red rooster...... duh. other way as I wrote above would be pure bred Rhode Island White....hopefully you caught that one. :O)

 

[Miss Bockerton]

Thanks for all of the help Chickat!!! I thought that golden sexlinks were under average layers.

 

[Chris09]

If you want a good amount of Brown eggs, go with a ISA Brown. The only placed licensed to sell them in the U.S. is Townline Hatchery but they are good layers and will out lay about anything.
http://www.townlinehatchery.com/

Chris

 

[ChicKat]

Thanks for all of the help Chickat!!! I thought that golden sexlinks were under average layers.

I think that the sexlinks are considered laying machines. Chris is also right that ISA browns are good layers. Around here...commercial production of brown layers is golden sexlinks or golden comets. They have a feed conversion ratio that means these little skinney birds seem to produce more and bigger eggs than they even eat. :O)

 

[nicalandia]

I've heard that Rhode Island Reds are the biggest producers... is this true?

not even close, the best pure breed producers are White Leghorns