Which is the best commercial Breed?

[mooSa]

I need to get a good brown egg layer that has a high productivity. I had the RiR in mind, but are there any large brown egg layers that also have high productivity? What would be the best for business?

and what are good companies than deliver RiR and other breeds? (please post link)

 

[Layin Eggs]

I feel my Golden Reds lay best of all my birds...Even better than my RIR.

 

[jenjscott]

My red sex link (red star) started laying at 16 weeks and laid all winter. I got mine from Cackle hatchery at cacklehatchery.com.

 

[Krys109uk]

The commercial hybrids will outlay any purebred.

The average egg numbers for each company's hybrids can usually be found by doing a search.

 

[mooSa]

so what are the good commercial hybrids? In the end i have to choose one breed so i can standardize my egg color and size, and im looking for large brown eggs.

 

[Krys109uk]

Just about all of the commercial hybrids advertise egg numbers over 300 pa. There would be small differences between figues such feed conversion etc. By & large they will be petty similar as the companies which have developed them for the commercial egg laying industry have to be competitive.

To clarify; egg laying hybrids.

 

[mooSa]

I see, but what do you mean by "developed them", as in natural cross breeding or use of chemicals and what not? and what are good commercial hybrids that lay large brown eggs?

 

[Krys109uk]

as in natural cross breeding or use of chemicals and what not?

Selective breeding of special strains.​

 

[mooSa]

I see, i just red a couple articles about egg laying hybrid chickens and the differences between pure bred and hybrid layers. From what iv read, it says that hybrid layers are made for short term egg laying purposes. They give you more the first year, and then the numbers drop faster throughout its life compared with pure bred.

And the top laying breeds include:

Leghorn
Rhode Island Reds
Black Star
Red Star
Light Sussex
Plymouth Rock
Cuckoo Maran
Barred Rock

First, is this information correct? and second, is the Rhode Island Red a pure breed?

 

[walkswithdog]

Black Star and Red Star ARE hybrids.

The difference between hatchery RIR and a good breeders RIR is night and day. Hatchery RIR should be pure but often have been crossed somewhere to make them lay more.

You're right if you use hatchery hybrids, they produce like heck for a couple of years, their numbers drop and they tend to die young.

On the other hand a healthy purebred bird from good stock usually lives a long fairly steadily productive life and is far less likely to die of being egg bound, among other things.

If all you're doing is an egg business - then plan on hatchery stock and switching the whole flock out every two years.

If you want a small family flock of layers and aren't going to like culling or selling every single bird every two years then you're better off with well bred purebreds. Several people here have AWESOME RIRS and they sell eggs for hatching, some probably ship chicks - that part I wouldn't know - not my breed.

I have Rocks and a Black Australorp laying now. The BA lays bigger eggs, more often than the Rocks. Both lay all winter and all summer.

The BA has been known to lay on some weeks an egg a day and an additional egg in a 36 hour period, so sometimes 8 eggs a week.

For a business you swap out birds and you really shouldn't expect birds from a hatchery that meet the standard or would be showable - they're production birds.

For a home flock the better quality you start with the easier it is to get to really terrific quality in your own birds.