Your experience with egg layers, how good are they?

[schmoo]

How in the heck do you know WHO laid what?! I can never tell unless I happen to be there, which is rare. My red stars are super friendly and I did see atleast one huge egg come from those girls. This AM I came down to the coop and every bird in the nest (5)was a BSL, but then again there were already several eggs laid in those nests before I went down. So who laid what?! I need a chickencam

 

[LoneCowboy]

Yeah, that's the hard part. Some people seperate their flocks for breeding, so they know what kind lays what. Or they specialize in just one or 2 breeds.

In my case, I only have 3 laying. I know the first egg is a Red sexlink. The second a little larger is also a red sexlink, and the one who can't decide what color her eggs are going to be, light brown with light speckles, darker brown with really dark speckles, or one that looks just plain light pink, is my black sex link. (yep, caught her in the act). So yeah, if I want to know, I go out a little later the next day and watch. (I check for eggs often cuz I'm new at this. and it's still novel)

 

[MNKris]

Red Stars (MM) - When in prime, 5-6 eggs/wk large/mostly xlarge size. After that, maybe 3/week After 1st molt they have all been jumbos. Extremely gentle and my pick for layers.

Easter Eggers (MM and Hoovers) - When in prime, 2-4 eggs/wk, very inconsistent, Medium to xlarge, not friendly, but easy to get along with.

Buff Orps (MM) - 3/wk medium. Not friendly strangely, mean rooosters

NHR (MM) - 4/wk, large. Average friendly, nice roosters and mean roosters

RIR (MM)- 5-6/wk, large/xlarge, skiddish hens, mean roosters. Sold them several months after they started laying.

Buff Minorcas (MM) 2-3/wk large/xlarge, slightly flighty

OE BB Game Bantams (Breeder and MM) - right now I am getting 3-5/eggs per day out of 7 hens. These range in size too, but are mostly a little better than average sized. Not ones to be held, but always looking for a handout. Very protective roosters (of hens) but none have ever tried to peck us in 14 years.

OE Silver Duckwing Game Bantams (MM) - 3-5 eggs/day out of 9 hens. These range in size too, but are mostly a little better than average sized. Not ones to be held, but always looking for a handout. Very protective roosters (of hens) but none have ever tried to peck us in 14 years.


I love the OE Game Bantams. They are a treat to have around and very colorful!

Welsummers can be purchased from several different hatcheries (Ideal, Whelp to name 2). I have been looking at them too and just found some eggs to hatch from a breeder in IL that ships quality eggs.

 

[Buckguy20]

My Welsummers lay like crazy. The only thing is is that have lost egg color since they lay so much. THe eggs I am getting now aren't half as dark as they were when they started.
I just bought some production reds and they were laying in the cages before I got home with them. They seem to be great layers but I haven't had them long.
My Buff Orpingtons lay well too but their eggs aren't near as big as the Welsummers or Production Reds.
Monty

 

[devora]

Oh how we love love love out BRs (2). Sweet, gorgeous, lay like mad. Not huge eggs, but so consistent. Lap chickens.

Mentioned a SLWyondotte, don't have one but do have a sexy Golden Laced (named Rita after Rita Hayworth) who keeps up w/ the BRs as far as production goes.

Our Leghorn is not quite the egg-machine I'd been told of, but she does produce. Not huge all the time.

Man, I'm so smitten w/ all my girls I sometimes think that if they stopped producing altogether I'd still keep 'em!

 

[annmarie]

Here's the story on my 3 musketeers: (all a little over 7 months old, and I do not use artificial light)

1 "Golden Comet" - (which is a red hybrid, I believe the same as red stars, and sex-links) she lays 7 large eggs a week, without fail. Very sweet, sociable and inquisitive, also the queen of the flock. Who wouldn't be with 7 eggs a week?

1 Plymouth Barred Rock - now that she's been laying for a few weeks, it seems that she's laying 5 large (and getting larger) eggs a week, fantastic personality, very chatty.

1 Rhode Island Red - just started laying this week so it's too soon to tell, but as for personality, at first she was very "to herself" not skiddish, but just not a people-chicken, but she is quickly becoming the most friendly chicken of all.

I must say that these 3 are proving to be incredibly hardy birds, since they do not get any kind of heating source and seem perfectly happy in the very cold Vermont winter.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Bo, my Barred Rock, lays 6 large-to-jumbo eggs a week, reliably, with no additional light.

Someone described their BR as a lap chicken; that's Bo, too. She supervises most of my projects, and when I call out, "BO BO!!", she come tearing across the yard to me like a velociraptor.

My Production Reds were hand-reared and all will tolerate handling, although they aren't crazy about it.

If my EEs don't lay eggs in the spring, they will be named Stew. I love their little mutton chops, but they are just not friendly, and they are so scared of the other hens, even after 4 months, that I feel miserable keeping them together.

 

[kstaven]

One thing you may want to do with breeds like the RIR is set two charts. One for heritage strain and one for commercial.

 

[CovenantCreek]

My only experience is with my red sex-links, they're about 10 months old and lay large to jumbo eggs every day. I think I only have one that ever takes a day off -- which she hasn't done in almost 2 weeks. At one point, back when I had 6 hens, I actually did get 7 eggs on two occasions, but one of the eggs was a little odd looking and the extra had no shell. It may have been Number One laying those cuz I don't recall it happening since she became lunch for a hawk.

Oh, and one of them did go broody on me back in October, but as soon as I had real eggs for her to set on she decided she was through with all that.

I forgot to mention, they are very personable birds, as well. They love to follow me around and have even supervised my daughter playing on the swing set while I cleaned the barn. They aren't too fond of being pet or held, but I got them as 17 week old started pullets so they probably didn't get any human contact while they were young. Most of them will eat out of my hand, the others aren't quite sure about it yet.

 

[akcskye]

Okay...my experience so far has been with:

Game hen (from my childhood)
RIR
Australorp
SLW
Lt. Brahma

My RIR's were all the best production hens I've had (almost daily...very few breaks). Next in line would be my Australorps (every other day).

The RIR laid Jumbo Browns. Australorps, a large to jumbo brown.

My SLW laid Med-Brown eggs that are kind of speckled, 4 days a week.

My Brahma laid large browns, about 3 to 4 days a week.

The game hen? Well, she would lay a dozen eggs during the week of Easter every year, and that would be it. She lived to be 12.