Need help choosing the best brown egg layer.

[ZombieChickens]

My RIRs are all egg-a-day ladies, never had any small or soft "pullet eggs" and they're pretty friendly. I was getting ready to post pics of my kids and neighbor kids hand feeding the girls worms out of the garden....

(first egg)

Can't go wrong with a few RIRs.

 

[Karen09]

I had Golden Comets and they laid an egg a day until when there wasn't as much sunlight but they still laid the most of all my chickens. I also had Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes, Australorps and Buff Orphington. The Golden Comet laid an egg the size of the Rhode Island Reds - large to extra large, and they were very sweet birds. I have a friend who also has them and they had a light in their coop to extend the daylight hours to 14 hours and they had an egg a day from each bird all through the winter. They are on their second year with them and they still laying well - not an egg a day but still high.

The Wyandottes, Australorps and Buff Orphington all laid 4 - 5 eggs a week for me. The Wyandotte eggs were larger like the Golden Comets but the Buff Orphington and Australorps were a medium to large size. I free range my chickens with layer feed in the coop so they have as much as they want.

Good luck chosing!

 

[Beekissed]

ZombieChickens, I don't think I've ever seen RIRs with white feathering...are you sure those aren't Red Stars?

If you want both hardiness, longevity of lay and consistent laying, I would go with RIR or Black Aussie. The production blacks and reds seem to not be real hardy...I lost several the first year from heart attacks and the rest just started looking rattier the older they got. I was finally down to one surviving black star and just culled her from the flock for nonlaying...she was 2 years old.

I have BAs that are 4 years old and are still going strong on laying.

 

[ZombieChickens]

I bought them as Rhode Island Reds....who knows? They're super pretty and lay good eggs.

 

[Beekissed]

They are VERY pretty!

I have a few just like them at my place.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

I have two Production Reds that I bought from a local farmer. Both were hatched back in the spring of this year.


Those two girls are the BEST egg layers I have ever had!


One of the girls, Brownie, laid an egg 29 out of the last 31 days. Her "smallest" egg was 2 and 3/8 ounces (which classifies as an "extra large" egg), but almost all of her eggs were 2 and 1/2 ounces (which classifies as a "jumbo" egg). She did not lay even one egg this past month that was less than an "extra large."


The other girl, Cinnamon, lays a slightly smaller and slightly lighter shade of chocolate colored egg. Her eggs range in weight from 2 1/8 ounces to 2 3/8 ounces, but most of them are 2 1/4 ounces. In other words, most of her eggs are officially "extra large" eggs. Once in a great while, she'll lay a "jumbo" egg, but not too often.


These girls are about 8 months old now, so they are at their peak egg laying age.


One thing I have noticed is that these two lay so often and such big eggs that they MUST have extra nutrients -- especially calcium -- or else their eggs begin to suffer. I have access to raw milk, so I give them raw milk to drink several mornings each week. This gives them extra sugar, protein and most importantly -- calcium. I am not sure how beneficial store bought, pasturized milk would be for a bird. But RAW milk is IDEAL for a laying hen, and their regular access to raw milk is probably why I get such great results from these birds.


I also feed them boiled egg at least once a week for the same reason -- to make sure they get plenty of healthy nutrients in them. Most people don't have access to raw milk, but they DO have access to eggs -- so boiled eggs will provide the same nutrient boost. If you grind up the shells, you can even feed the shells back to the hens. Lots of calcium is in those ground up egg shells.


Plain, micro-biotic filled yogurt can be used in lieu of raw milk to do the same job that the raw milk and/or boiled egg do.


Also, please note that I have supplemental lighting in the henhouse. This time of the year, hens begin to slow down in their egg production -- doesn't matter what variety -- if they do not have supplemental light in their housing units. My hens get 14 hours of light a day, plus a healthy diet, and they respond by producing what is probably the maximum number and size eggs for their variety.


On top of all of that -- my Production Reds are the sweetest little hens! They don't care to be held, but they interact really well with other chickens and with people, they eat treats out of my hand, and they handle confinement well.


I HIGHLY recommend Production Reds!

 

[Mahonri]

Black Sex links. I had one that went 3 months without missing a day laying an egg.

 

[jacksboro_red]

if you really want the best brown egg layer id say go with RIR's. I like sex links. Ive had alot of red, black, and gold comets but none of them have laid as consistantly as the RIR's. Grew up in pa and theyd lay right through winter up there

 

[abhaya]

my RIR is my best layer but the sexlinks do very well too. all lay large brown eggs. I give eggs to friends and let them know that they have to bring me jumbo egg cartons because the eggs are so big from my rir