Opinions on best egg layers

[Bocktobery 10]

Just chiming in.. I have not read all the responses yet but will do so later..

I've had several breeds so far, and i would say that the Rhode Island Reds were always reliable and worked well past the 'expiration date'. I've not ever tried a hybrid of that breed. I do think those might be better. And as far as being a nice bird.. I had two and one was grouchy and mean and the other was sweet as can be- a lap chicken. If I'd go outside she come and find me and follow me around, even if I didn't have food. I think it all depends on the bird. They are all different.

I also second (or third, or forth, or whatever) whomever said about the Black Australorps... Mine have all be VERY VERY healthy robust fearless sweet stable birds. I had one that as a chick had spraddle leg. Put a splint on it and she grew into a healthy beautiful productive hen. I also have two Jersey Giants who are also just the same as the Australorps. One of those is standoffish while the other is personable.

I have a brown leghorn who surprised me lately with more eggs. She is over two years old and had stopped but she is now laying again. I guess she was not finished after all! She was very productive also before.

EDIT: I just need to make clear here that when I say that my one RIR was "grouchy and mean" I mean that she was that way towards other chickens... not humans. She did not come after humans, just other birds who got in her way. "Bossy" would be a better term I suppose. The only ones that she picked on relentlessly was the ones that were sick and dying.. a behavior that is, I hear, universal and inherent in chickens. Sorry about being unclear.

 

[IzziesChickies]

If you were going just for the eggs i'd say get red sex-links or leghorns. I have both and get are EGGcellent layers

 

[RFR of CA]

Yes, Basque Hens (Euskal Oiloa) are rare now in the US, only having been here about 4 years now from Spain, but they will be more and more popular I think in the years to come. They are just about the perfect small farm dual purpose chicken that I have come across. We have had a small group for about 3 years now. They are still my favorites by far of any other breed of chickens that I have owned on every count. Eggs collected today (one per hen again) all are about 2.3 oz (extra large) and come from hens that are smaller by far, and eat much less than, many larger breeds on my ranch. I get jumbo eggs regularly, and for a bonus the roosters grow fast and gain weight pretty quickly for a heritage breed. PS: My flock will be closed probably until late fall or next spring.


Christine
https://www.facebook.com/RareFeathersRanchofCA

 

[EastNashChick]

Yes, Basque Hens (Euskal Oiloa) are rare now in the US, only having been here about 4 years now from Spain, but they will be more and more popular I think in the years to come. They are just about the perfect small farm dual purpose chicken that I have come across. We have had a small group for about 3 years now. They are still my favorites by far of any other breed of chickens that I have owned on every count. Eggs collected today (one per hen again) all are about 2.3 oz (extra large) and come from hens that are smaller by far, and eat much less than, many larger breeds on my ranch. I get jumbo eggs regularly, and for a bonus the roosters grow fast and gain weight pretty quickly for a heritage breed. PS: My flock will be closed probably until late fall or next spring. Christine https://www.facebook.com/RareFeathersRanchofCA

Gorgeous chickens!

 

[LoveThemBirds]

Anyone raising speckled Sussex?

 

[chickbrad24]

I would say a Black Australorp I had a fabulous hen named Stumbalina who let my friends 2 children 6 and 4 years old hold her. I got excellent huge eggs and sometimes she laid twice a day but that was very rare I think it happened 3 time while I had her. But unfortunately a predator got her while I was at work one evening. I was heart broken she was the best hen I ever had.

 

[Joe K]

I have had success with "dominating" an aggressive chicken by grasping the feathers right behind the head and pressing the head down toward the ground while shaking slightly. You don't have to hurt the chicken in any way, do it gently but hold down for a few seconds. They usually realize that you are the "big chicken". Your grand-daughter would also have to do this. This actually worked with an aggressive grouse protecting it's territory. It would attack it's image in the car mirrors.

 

[cochicken]

If all you want is high egg production there is a reason White Leghorn are used commercially. The breed was developed to eat less and lay more and not be broody. I've had them (my first batch) and can say they are truly egg laying machines. Even now I still get 5 or 6 eggs/ week all winter all year for almost 4 years now. Very thin boney feeling birds with no meat on them all all. If it was a different breed I'd think that it was sick, but all were that way. Still it lays a giant egg every day from somewhere. They aren't the friendliest birds though. Seem very nervous and flighty all though I've had them since chicks. ISA Browns are the UK equivalent as they like brown eggs over white. Personally I like Orpington or Cochin for their personalities. My Buff Orps kept up with the Leghorns for the first year or so.

 

[Michael OShay]

The best egg layers statistically are White Leghorns and Black and Red Sex Links. These are the hens used by laying houses (White Leghorns for white eggs, and Black or Red Sex Links for brown eggs) for this very reason. They are egg laying machines, consistently churning out more than 300 eggs per hen per year. A caged White Leghorn in a controlled environment set the egg laying record in 1979 with 371 eggs in 365 days. Black Australorps, Production Reds, Austra Whites, and California Whites are also excellent layers, with the occasional hen sometimes exceeding 300 eggs in a year.

 

[FargreenHens]

Our Austrolorps lay daily as do our Golden Buffs/Red sex links.Our Easter Eggers do not lay in the cold.

Fargreenhens.com