Eggs?

[mwtslf23]

I am wondering if anyone could tell me what breed of chickens(in your opinion) are the best egg layers for white and brown eggs.

Thank you,
Mike

[insanity]

From what Ive seen out of our 7 breeds of dual purpose brown egg layers it has more to do with the feed and lighting than the breed.As long as it is breed for dual purpose or egg laying of coarse.Cant go wrong with production Road Island Reds Though,strictly breed for brown egg laying.
Heres a good site.Just pick out some pretty ones.
I like my Black Australorps best.

Scroll down to the:Chickens, alphabetically by breed:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html

I forget the breeds that lay white eggs.But theres a site that shows egg colors from various breeds.Maybe someone else can post it for ya.Ive lost it somehow.

[Wolf mom]

RRR are good, but I personally don't like their personalities - as a whole.

Barbed Rocks and Buff Orps are a nicer choice.

[Ol'Reb]

Production reds lay nice eggs. However, I'm pretty partial to our aracunas and their blue/green eggs.

[vancom]

We love our Buff Orps (brown) and the Ideal Poultry brand of white leghorns (white) as both lay nice sized eggs regularly. We also like our Dominques--good personality and smaller but quality brown eggs.

Right now with 17 hens we et at least 16 eggs a day...lucky we eat alot of eggs, and what we can't eat we sell to friends, co-workers and our church members. We make enough to cover the feed so we're happy about that!

Vanessa

[RenieB]

We always had good results with Rhode Island Reds. They give large brown eggs. People up here aren't used the white eggs but I can't see much difference so I buy whichever is cheapest.

RenieB

[deb]

What kind of climate & conditions do you plan to keep the birds?

There are a lot of breeds that lay well, but some breeds will do much better under certain climates!

Deb
in wi

[RockyRooster]

I have RRR, White Rocks, Barred Rocks, and Black Austrolorps. The White Rocks produce beautiful eggs and so do the Black Austrolorps. They are not white, they are light brown. The RRR are brown, and barred rock light brown. I do not like the RRR.
They molt all the time, their attitudes are mean. We have already killed the RRR Rooster. The White rock are my favorite. Very gentle and want to produce for you.

[southerngurl]

White - White Leghorn
Brown - RRR or one of the crosses like Production Reds

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by southerngurl

White - White Leghorn
Brown - RRR or one of the crosses like Production Reds

RIR is Rhode Island Red. Dunno what RRR is.

[rabbitgal]

You'd need to elaborate on how you want to raise them...free range vs. totally confined, etc. Some breeds are better than others for certain management techniques.

For free-range or "backyard flock" situations, I think the Buff Orpington is hard to beat. They lay brown eggs, are fairly winter-hardy (thick feathering, but the large combs are subject to frostbite), are good foragers, good mothers, good setters, and pretty good layers. The biggest thing for us though (since I have a bunch of siblings) is that they are really docile and calm birds. Very gentle. We've never had a problem with the roosters either.

Probably their biggest drawback is that they're not going to lay as many eggs as a production-bred animal (Leghorn, sexlink eggers). They might decide to go broody on you just when you need a lot of eggs. Since they're considered a dual-purpose breed, you're feeding a larger body than you would if you had a smaller production-bred hen. But for the small farm where max production isn't as important and you need a hardy hen that can take care of herself, I think the Buff Orpington is a great choice.

[EasyDay]

Originally Posted by Wolf mom

RRR are good, but I personally don't like their personalities - as a whole.

Barbed Rocks and Buff Orps are a nicer choice.

Yep, my Barred Rocks are consistent layers, but only one of my Buffs is. They both have pleasant personalities, not skittish and very friendly. Both lay brown eggs.

My white leghorns lay large white eggs, but don't have the personality of the others.

Have two banty crosses that are completely reliable layers... and if you're looking for one to go broody, my one banty-cross hatched three, kicked them out when they were 5 weeks old, and went broody again right away. She's sitting on 7 now (not all hers). She must love being a mama! And I love getting broilers for the freezer!

Have various others... two of which have also gone broody, but for the life of me don't have a clue what breed they are. I know they're 1/2 fighting breed. I call 'em "racers", because they put their tails down and RUN like the wind! *shrug* Good mamas so far. Total of 18 eggs between them.

[mwtslf23]

Originally Posted by deb

What kind of climate & conditions do you plan to keep the birds?

There are a lot of breeds that lay well, but some breeds will do much better under certain climates!

Deb
in wi

We will be moving to Evant, TX. The climate here is hot, summers will be in the upper 90's to 100's. We have had good luck with white leghorns and barred rocks in the past, just looking for a little change.

Mike

[BamaSuzy]

When I got my first Y2K chickens our then co-op head (who is now deceased but who I think of nearly every day!) advised me to get Golden Comets, which are called sex-link chicks in the McMurray Hatchery catalog. So I got 20 Golden Comets and five (Easter egg) chickens, and some of those chickens are STILL ALIVE and still laying!!!!

So I highly recommend them and try to get some new ones EVERY year. We live in north central Alabama and it is hot and humid here much of the summer. My chickens are locked into their chicken house at night but are either outside in the BIG chicken yard, or fly the fence and are all over the farm during the day. (It doesn't help to cut off one wing with MY chickens, they just stand there a little while, size up the fence, and over they go anyway!) But I don't mind them freeranging and they mostly stay out of the fenced garden.

I have about 80 layers now and three roosters. I have Golden Commets, White Rocks, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and "Easter egg" chickens and get huge brown eggs to sell every day.

Best wishes with your continued homesteading!

When I lived in Alabama I had Buff Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds..the egg production from both breeds was simply astounding..had more than I knew what to do with..the RIR's had a nasty habit of dropping dead though..just would keel over and fall off the perch in the middle of the night..plop. Never had a Buff do that..
no experience with hens that lay white eggs..

[MarleneS]

Thought I'd stir up trouble by sharing that I read a study that stated that there is no nutritional difference between white and brown eggs.

Marlene

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by MarleneS

Thought I'd stir up trouble by sharing that I read a study that stated that there is no nutritional difference between white and brown eggs.

Marlene

That is correct. Brown, tinted, white, and green/blue eggs all have the same nutrition and taste, all other factors being equal.

Some people just happen to prefer one color shell over the others. Some people insist brown eggs taste better, but taste has more to do with how the hens are kept and fed.

Pasture eggs taste better than cage eggs, regardless of shell color.

[mwtslf23]

is there any organic chicken feed out there?

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by mwtslf23

is there any organic chicken feed out there?

Yes, but I see you're in Texas. Several of us in Texas are trying to find a source. Most of the organic feed is sold in the northeast, and on the west and east coasts.

[james dilley]

You mean theres NO one selling Organic Feeds in Texas???I prefer the old standby breeds myself Brown leghorns, Dark Cornish and N H Reds. for layers myself..