Of your laying hens, which breed or breeds are your favorite and why?

[Blueeyez]

We are going to start a backyard hen flock for eggs and are having a really hard time deciding on breeds! We are planning to try a few different ones and see what works best for us, but we haven't completely decided what breeds yet! So, we're just curious what your favorite laying hens are and why they are your favorite! Thanks for your input

 

[JenniferCNY]

I have 3 Easter Eggers, 3 Barred Rocks, and 2 Buff Orpingtons.

Hands down, my favorites are my buffs. They lay very consistently (similar to my BRs) but their personalities are the best! Sweet, friendly, fluffy, come running when they see me. Love them!

I do like the EEs for their prettye ggs, but they don't lay as much as my others and they are skittish and standoffish.

 

[chickencraz]

The favorites in my flock have to be my houdans, & australorps. They are super friendly. My australops are still laying a good number of eggs at 5 years old.

EEs can be hit and miss. I've had some that are really friendly, and others that aren't. I've got a couple that usually around 5-6 eggs per week each, but have had one that laid around 1-2 a week.

Different hatcheries have different strains of the breeds, which can affect their personalities and laying. For example, my Buff orpingtons haven't been my best layers or friendliest birds, but plenty of others have had good experience with them. A lot of how friendly they are can depend on how they are raised.

 

[Croamagna]

My favorites are our swedish flower hens. They lay like machines and lay a huge egg. The variety of colors also makes for a more interesting flock.

 

[chkiror]

My red sex linked hens are the friendliest and always front row for a snack. They follow us around like dogs . They lay an egg a day. For looks I like my cream legbar hens but they don't like to be picked up. They lay a cute blue egg. Some of mine tend to go broody and are good mother's. I also have a few Easter eggers that lay well but are not generally as friendly.

 

[ChickenCrazy00]

My favorites are the easter eggers. They are friendly, calm, and never have any problems with consistant laying. Plus their eggs are unique!