What's the best egg laying chicken breed?

[ChickenCanoe]

I haven't had a problem with leghorns burning themselves out. I've raised whites and blacks. They've always had lengthy productive lifespans here.
Every pullet hatches with more ova than she can ever possibly lay in a lifetime. Many nutrition/health issues will shorten the productive life of any breed.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I've had problems with them burning out and I'm certainly not the only one. But I suspect there's a difference between a good heritage leghorn and ones bred solely for egg production. And I imagine you see a change in food consumption and/or egg quantity/size as a result as well with those longer lifespans.

 

[Diana_burns04]

What's the best chicken breed for egg production? I want a fantastic egg laying chicken that has a long lifespan that lays alot of eggs, I would also like it not to eat much food so it's easy to feed. Any idea what kind of chicken breed would be good for me?

yes red stars

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've had problems with them burning out and I'm certainly not the only one. But I suspect there's a difference between a good heritage leghorn and ones bred solely for egg production. And I imagine you see a change in food consumption and/or egg quantity/size as a result as well with those longer lifespans.

All true.
I once had a black leghorn go broody often and raised several clutches for me but she was still quite productive when not caring for chicks. I can't remember how long she was here before taken by a predator but it was a long time.
I also had a lot of white leghorns go broody but I usually broke them with broody jail.

 

[Bullitt]

White Leghorns lay the most eggs and have the best feed-to-egg ratio of any breed. They should live at least five years. Brown Leghorns are also good, and probably better at avoiding predators, but they will not lay as many eggs as the whites.

If you want a breed for eggs, it is Leghorn. If you want brown eggs, Rhode Island Reds are very good.

A hen will lay eggs the best in its first year. Each year after that the number of eggs declines. The best way to keep a flock producing well is to keep culling old hens and adding pullets each year. A good white Leghorn should lay more than 300 eggs in its first year of laying eggs.

 

[Bullitt]

I crossed my red sex linked with my black jersey giant rooster, I'm hoping that the offspring will lay eggs just like a red sex link but will live longer than a red sex link... We will see!

Unfortunately, the offspring will not lay as well as the sex-link hybrid. Jersey Giants are not great egg-layers. I would guess it will live about as long as the sex-link.

Just so we are clear, a sex-link hybrid is not a breed. It is a cross of two breeds.

The original poster asked which breed is best for laying eggs. There are many crosses that are very good for laying eggs also. The White Leghorn still holds the world record for laying eggs, as far as I know. I believe it was 371 eggs in 364 days.

 

[FortCluck]

Unfortunately, the offspring will not lay as well as the sex-link hybrid. Jersey Giants are not great egg-layers. I would guess it will live about as long as the sex-link.

Just so we are clear, a sex-link hybrid is not a breed. It is a cross of two breeds.

The original poster asked which breed is best for laying eggs. There are many crosses that are very good for laying eggs also. The White Leghorn still holds the world record for laying eggs, as far as I know. I believe it was 371 eggs in 364 days.

I was just saying my RSL's are good layers. Im not sure what you're try to say to me. I said nothing wrong. I put my opinion in of what I thought my best laying breed has been, it doesn't matter if they're a mix. You can buy RSLs at a lot of places. I've owned numerous breeds and the RSL has laid the best for me.

I doubt my crosses that I created will lay poorly. BJG lay at least 4 eggs a week, which isn't bad. My RSL have laid every day since January 1st, it's just what I've seen in MY flock. I get the leghorn is the best, but I can still give my opinion on what I've seen with my own 2 eyes in the past 5+ years.

 

[sealer39]

I agree with the White Leghorns. They are a hardy breed and very dependable for many large to
x-large eggs.

 

[Bullitt]

I was just saying my RSL's are good layers. Im not sure what you're try to say to me. I said nothing wrong. I put my opinion in of what I thought my best laying breed has been, it doesn't matter if they're a mix. You can buy RSLs at a lot of places. I've owned numerous breeds and the RSL has laid the best for me.

I doubt my crosses that I created will lay poorly. BJG lay at least 4 eggs a week, which isn't bad. My RSL have laid every day since January 1st, it's just what I've seen in MY flock. I get the leghorn is the best, but I can still give my opinion on what I've seen with my own 2 eyes in the past 5+ years.

Of course you are free to state your opinion. I was not trying to insult your chickens or anything.

You wrote, "I crossed my red sex linked with my black jersey giant rooster, I'm hoping that the offspring will lay eggs just like a red sex link but will live longer than a red sex link... We will see!"

I was just stating a fact that sex-link chickens are not breeds of chickens. Also, if you breed your Jersey Giant to sex-link chickens you will have a three-way cross. You will have a variety of outcomes. They will not lay eggs as well as the sex-link crosses like the red sex-link or black sex-link.

I should also rephrase what I was trying to say. The Black Jersey Giant is a good egg-layer but does not lay eggs as well as a black sex-link or red sex-link.

The offspring from your Jersey Giant and sex-link chickens will not lay as well as the sex-link chickens. I am sure they will be fine laying hens, though.

 

[Ted_Harrell]

I own two white leghorns from Ideal hatchery and they are easy on the feed consumption and though they are just getting started they have been laying consistently. My only qualm with them is the flightiness. I have tried since 3 days old to get that out of them and have not succeeded. Other than that they have been fantastic, hope this helps