What do you think is the best and worst laying breeds?

[K-12 Chickens]

Just wondering what experience everyone has had on all sorts of chickens breeds. I'd say one of the best laying breeds I've had so far is the ISA Brown. The worst for me is probably the Silver-Laced Wyandotte, though I do love their beautiful feathers!

 

[Illia]

Best layer for me has been, well, it's a tie between Polish and French Marans. (weird I know, one would expect me to say Australorps or Sex-Links or something) - But my Polish especially last a long time and continue to lay daily even on their 3rd year. Only complaint is that their molting period can last no less than 3 months. Ugh.

Worst is hard to judge, as most of my "bad" ones are because they're too busy doing other things, like brooding. So in that, I'd say imported Sussex and some lines of Ameraucanas. The Sussex go broody a LOT and molt sometimes more than once a year, so they usually give me about 5-12 eggs every month or two. Not all Ameraucanas are bad, but a couple strains of BBS ones I had gave me amazing, super blue eggs, however it was very short lasting. After almost three years patience, I gave up on them. Wheatens and Buffs so far are great though.

 

[Baptist1611]

Best Laying- Australorp
Worst Laying- right now would be our Comets

 

[Cowgirl71]

Great idea for a thread!!!

Best Layer: Rhode Island Reds
Worst Layer: Easter Eggers

As far as hens of laying age, I've had the following breeds: Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Red Stars, Easter Eggers, Black Australorps, Golden Laced Wyandottes, Black Stars, and a Rhode Island Red/Sicilian Buttercup cross.

 

[nurse_turtle]

White leghorns are egg-laying machines although I don't know about their longevity in doing so.
My Dominique girls lay 6 of 7 days.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Yes, White Leghorns are definitely THE BEST egg laying breed.

 

[mama24]

My Pyncheon is a laying machine. She lays me a teeny tiny little pink egg every single day. But it takes like 3 of them to make a regular size egg. My red sexlink is about 3 years old now, and while she hasn't laid all winter, she gave me 4-6 jumbo sized eggs a week last spring through fall, and maybe 2 per month since she started molting in the fall. I had a Delaware pullet who laid daily no matter what, but she was a carrier for mycoplasmosis, so she had to go when we wanted more chickens, so I'm not sure how long that would have kept up. Really I think my bantams are my best layers, their eggs are just really small. I had a bantam sultan who laid a small egg every day, and I have a mixed breed who looks a lot like a Dutch, but a little too big to be pure, who lays about 5-6 eggs a week IF she isn't broody, and she's really broody. lol

I have to agree my EE's are my worst layers. I have 3. One of them I think is mixed with a white egg layer, possibly leghorn (her comb is a mixed single crossed with something else), and she lays beautiful blue eggs sometimes with white spots. She's my best layer of the 3, and she lays maybe 4-5 per week. The other 2, I can't tell their eggs apart and I don't always even get one green egg daily, very rarely do I get 2 green eggs on the same day. They were better in the fall, though. I have a light in my coop, and they're still not laying close to daily. The bantams are in a separate coop with no light, and they're still laying daily.

 

[featherfooted]

My white Leghorns are my best egg layers. They out lay all my brown egg layers. I only have 5 leghorns and I can count on 4 or 5 eggs from them a day. Where I have 11 brown egg layers including 5 sex linked and I usually get from 3 to 5 brown eggs a day. All my hens are less than a year old.

 

[Dr Bjorn Netland]

I have but 3 white Leghorn hens, plus 1 California white hybrid. Though they are 3 years old, they just came back into lay after this fall's molt. In their pullet year, I put them in with a Norwegian Jaer cock bird and hatched some chicks out of this cross, and 3 of those pullets are the most phenomenal layers of large, white eggs I have ever had; two others were not as impressive, so I culled them. I have back crossed the 3 Jaer/Leghorn hens to a Jaer cock bird and have some very nice, strong, healthy pullets selected for further breeding. These are almost at the point of lay, and I am anxious to see if the incredible production can be maintained. They are very small birds but their parent crosses lay large, white eggs and have superior feed/production conversation rate. They have a calmer disposition than the white Leghorns and are mostly white with some faint buff/gold spotting/barring and gold hackle feathers.

 

[aoxa]

I think the best (IMO) is Silver Spangled Hamburg for purebred chickens.. I would say production red or ISA, but I'm going with something more uncommon

Worst: Silkie or polish..