Best Laying Hens that will lay a lot of eggs for you

Are you thinking about raising backyard laying hens, then welcome to our nonstop poultry business guide here we will enlist the Best Laying Hens that will lay a lot of eggs for you but before going into the details let’s clear your concept about variations of poultry breed.

There are hundreds of Chicken Breeds in Pakistan and also around the world. The great variations in chicken breeds all over the world are because of geographical distribution. Now, how all these breeds are distinguishable? The answer is very simple: There are various ways to classify Chicken Breeds like

The physical traits used to distinguish chicken breeds are size, comb type, skin color, number of toes, amount of feathering, egg color, and most importantly the place of origin. But the most common way of classification is on the following types

• On the basis of origin

• Egg Producing Breeds

• On the basis of meat production

There are some chicken breeds that are known as hybrid breeds (dual-purpose breeds ). Dual-purpose means those breeds that are good at both, egg as well as meat productions. In this article, we will enlist the Best Laying Hens that will lay a lot of eggs for you. So let’s get started.

Best Laying Hens: ( Layers breed )

All chickens lay eggs and have edible meat However, distinct breeds are the result of selective breeding to emphasize certain traits. Layers don’t mean the chickens that only lay eggs and have not meat production. In fact, the Layer stands for those chicken breeds that are light in weight, not get so broody, and lay a lot of eggs in contrast to their meat production.

There are two types of Layers:

1. Those that lay white eggs
2. Those that lay brown eggs

So, let’s have a look at the Best Laying Hens in the world.

Australorp:

The Australorp is a chicken breed of Australian origin, developed as a utility breed with a focus on egg-laying, and is famous for laying more than 300 eggs. It achieved worldwide popularity in the 1920s after the breed broke numerous world records for the number of eggs laid and has been a popular breed in the western world since.

Distinctive Features of Pure Australorp Breed:

Both hens and roosters have black feathers, all with a green iridescent sheen. Roosters have distinctive long, narrow feathers with pointed tips over their necks and shoulders as well as over the top of their rumps. Their wattles, comb, and earlobes are red. Their beak is dark in color and their eyes are black.

How many eggs Australorp lays in a Year

It lays 360 eggs per year depending on the conditions provided.

Rhode Island Red:

Rhode Island Red is a crossbreed between Malay and Brown Leghorns. It is a dual-purpose breed raised both for its meat and egg production.

Distinctive Features of Pure Rhode Island Red Breed:

The color of the plumage of the traditional Rhode Island Red ranges from a lustrous deep red to almost black; the tail is mostly black. The comb may be either single or rose-comb; it is vivid red, as are the earlobes and wattles.  Birds have red-orange eyes, reddish-brown beaks, and yellow feet and legs, often with some red on the toes and sides of the shanks.

How many eggs Rhode Island Red lays in a Year

Rhode Island Red lays 200–300 brown eggs per year.

Leghorn Chicken:

Leghorn Chicken is a breed that originated in Tuscany, a region in central Italy. There are many varieties of leghorn Chicken but out of these white Leghorn is the most common. American Association of Poultry recognized ten colors of this breed.

Distinctive Features of Pure Leghorn Chicken Breed:

Most Leghorns have a single comb. The legs are bright yellow and the ear-lobes white.

How many eggs Leghorn Chicken in a Year

Leghorn Chickens are good layers of white eggs, laying an average of 280 per year and sometimes reaching 300–320, with a weight of at least 55 g.

Sussex Chicken:

Sussex Chicken is a British breed with seven colors raised for both its meat and egg uses.

Distinctive Features of Pure Sussex Chicken Breed:

The Sussex chicken is graceful with a long, broad, flat back; a long and straight breastbone; wide shoulders; and a rectangular build. The tail is held at a 45-degree angle from the body. The eyes are red in the darker varieties but orange in the lighter ones. The comb is single. The earlobes are red and the legs and skin are white in every variety.

How many eggs Sussex Chicken in a Year:

Hens lay some 180–200 tinted eggs per year; some layer strains may give up to 250.

Ancona:

Ancona is a Meditteranean class layer that originates in the Itlay. Its name Ancona is also derived due to its origin in Ancona ( a capital of Marches, a region in Italy ). This layer breed is also very famous in Uk.

Distinctive Features of Pure Ancona Breed:

The feathers of Ancona are black with white spots throughout the body. There is a medium-sized comb and bent to one side with five well-marked points; in hens, it should fall gracefully to one side. The beak is yellow with black spots on the upper mandible. The ear lobes are white or cream in cream that’s why Ancona lays white eggs.

How many eggs Ancona in a Year

The size of a cock is almost 2.5-2.8 kg and hens are about 1.8 – 2.1 kg. This layer breed is not brooding and lays an average of 220 eggs per year. The weight of an egg is 50 g

The pullets lay eggs at an age of 5 months.

Easter Egger:

Easter Egger means those chickens that lay different colors of eggs. In other words, these chickens have a color gene that is responsible for the different colors of eggs. This breed doesn’t meet any standard of the American poultry association.

Distinctive Features of Pure Easter Egger Breed:

They are good layers. Easter Eggers come in an infinite number of color varieties and lay an infinite number of different color eggs. Their eggs vary in shade from blue to green and in some cases even pink.

How many eggs Easter Egger in a Year

They lay 200 -280 eggs per year.

Plymouth Rock chicken:

The most popular chicken breed in the United States. It is a dual-purpose breed, that is raised both for its meat and for its brown eggs. It is resistant to cold, easy to manage, and a good sitter.

Distinctive Features of Plymouth Rock chicken:

The Plymouth Rock Chicken has a single comb with five points; the comb, wattles, and ear-lobes are bright red. The legs are yellow and unfeathered. The beak is yellow or horn-colored. The back is long and broad, and the breast fairly deep.

Seven color varieties of Plymouth Rock are recognized in the US.

How many eggs Plymouth Rock chicken lays in a Year

It lays about 200 eggs per year.

Wyandotte:

The Wyandotte is a dual-purpose breed, kept for its brown eggs and its yellow-skinned meat. It is a popular show bird and has many variants.  It was originally known as the American Sebright.

Distinctive Features of Wyandotte Breed:

The breast is deep, full, and well-rounded. The body of a Wyandotte is described as medium length but very wide, carrying that width across the back and into the tail is clean-legged and fairly close-feathered, and has a broad skull with a rose comb. The skin and shanks are yellow and the ear-lobes, face, and wattles are red.

How many eggs Wyandotte in a Year

It lay 200 eggs per year.

Orpington:

A British-originated chicken breed Orpington is a dual-purpose breed to be reared both for eggs and for meat.

Distinctive Features of Pure Orpington Breed:

They also ask for a heavy, broad body with a low stance, with fluffed-out feathers which make it look large; the down from the body covers most of the legs. Other characteristics of their Orpingtons are a curvy shape with a short back and U-shaped underline, and a small head with a medium single comb.

How many eggs Orpington in a Year

Orpingtons lay about 175 to 200 medium to large light-brown eggs a year.

Barnevelder:

Barnevelder is a crossbreed between the local dutch with shanghai birds from Asia. This breed was named because of its origin in Barneveld, a region in the Netherlands.

Distinctive Features of Pure Barnevelder Breed:

The Barnevelder has yellow legs with a double coat and a single vertical comb.

How many eggs Barnevelder in a Year

This breed is capable of laying 170 -200 brown eggs/year. An important feature is that it lay eggs in winter too.

Andalusian Chicken:

Andalusian is considered as the best laying hens in Spain. This breed comes in a variety of colors like off-white, blue, etc. The color of the coat depends on the dilution gene ( a gene that is responsible for color traits in animals ).

Distinctive Features of Andalusian Breed:

The ear lobes are white, smooth, and almond shape. the feet are black.

How many eggs Andalusian in a Year

Andalusian hens lay about 165 white eggs per year; eggs weigh 70–80 g. 

Fayoumi:

Fayoumi is an Egyptian Breed. This breed is considered an ancient breed. Its name is derived from its origin near the west of the Nile in Egypt.

Distinctive Features of Pure Fayoumi Breed:

Fayoumi has a single red comb with seven serrations. Combs, wattles, and ear lobes are red in color. Feet and beak are horn-like in color. Fayoumi comes in two standard colors, silver, and gold.

This breed is best suitable for a free-range housing system.

How many eggs Fayoumi lays in a Year

They are not given to broodiness as pullets but can be when they reach two or three years of age. The breed is fast to mature, with hens laying by four and half months, and cockerels crowing at five or six weeks.

Conclusion:

So far we have listed the Best Laying Hens for you. Now, its your turn to decide which one you are going to adopt. If you are looking to start a layer farming poultry business then we will suggest you choose the Australorp poultry bird because this breed is a leading egg-laying chicken breed throughout the world.

Before starting a Poultry business make sure to check out our detailed case study on how to start a poultry business step-by-step guide for beginners.