Pre-Chicken Owner on a fact finding mission

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Dennis Noble

Dennis Noble

In the Brooder
Dec 5, 2017
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I do not have a coop or even one chicken. The only eggs I have are from Stater Bros. I am doing the research now so I think I can start to be ready when I move to my new place and have the room for poultry.
The breeds I have not picked out yet, but I am leaning to a brown egg producer of around 250 to 300 eggs per year. Is that reasonable?
I found out about Back Yard Chickens through Google search for "Chicken Laws". Kind of funny.
Some of my other hobbies include fixing my laptop daily, listening to music and fixing my headphones or going to go buy another set.
Once I get my place I will take on the responsibility of raising chickens. My family is in full support and I have checked out the poultry law's so I am rearing to go. CreamLegbars3Small.jpg
 
G’Day from down under Dennis :frow Welcome!

Only having five little bantams who spend more time broody than they actually do laying eggs ;) I am not your best option for recommending a good laying breed but you might find this article helpful: Pickin a Chicken

I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you include your general location on your profile, this will assist others. Location, climate, season etc can be important factors when members are responding to any questions you may have and vice versa.

You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello.

BYC has Topic of the Week articles which I have found to be a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group.

If you would like to share Pictures and Stories of your flock when they arrive, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out ;)

Best wishes and good luck!
 
:welcome

The only brown egg layers that I can think of that could lay in the numbers you are looking for would be a production bird (a hen that has been bred to be an egg laying machine!) The only ones I have experience with are ISA Browns. They are amazing layers. My 2 ISA's rarely skip a day laying. They both are docile, friendly girls, and definitely produce amazingly well. Their eggs are huge too... even bigger than my ducks' eggs!
In a side note, my other best layers are my White Leghorns, they lay just as well as my ISA's, but are smaller (i.e. don't consume as much feed, so cost less to feed), however, they lay a white egg. So, if your looking strictly for brown eggs, they won't qualify.:confused:
 
California grays and leghorns both lay about 280-300, but they lay white eggs. California Grays are supposed to be a lot less flighty than Leghorns and I would like to try some at some point. They are far more efficient at converting feed into eggs than any other bird is.

Production Red hens (generally advertised as Rhode Island Reds) lay about 260 eggs a year, but are noted for being aggressive. I've never had that issue with mine, and I would say they're probably my favorite laying breed.

Plymouth Barred Rocks are supposed to lay 280 brown eggs a year. Their eggs are slightly paler and smaller than that of a Production Red (In my experience) so I'd say it averages out to about the same production. The Barred Rocks are bullies, in my experience.

I would not get a first-time rooster of either RIR or PBR persuasion.

Australorps are good hens. They're calm, with a paler, almost pearly-colored brown egg and production of 270 eggs/yr. They're very pretty birds, too.

Sex-links (ISA browns, Cinnamon Queens, Black Stars, etc.) tend to lay between 270-300 eggs a year. From personal experience, the black ones are less neurotic than the reds, but also lay fewer eggs. They tend to suffer from reproduction problems when they get older, and the reds I had were pretty aggressive.

EDT: Good luck, and, as always, YMMV. Everything above is personal experience.
 
I have two hatchery RIRs and a hatchery Australorp that are laying machines. Over 300 eggs a year. Poor babies will burn out quick.
If possible, chickens who don't lay as often will keep you going with the eggs but not tax their little bodies so much and the birds will possibly lay eggs longer into their lives.
 

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