The most egg-laying breeds of chickens: description, characteristics

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

According to the purpose of the breed of chickens are divided into meat, egg and meat-egg, fighting and decorative. They differ in the number of eggs laid per year, weight, development, purpose. The most egg-laying breeds of chickens are birds of the egg direction. They are capable of carrying more than three hundred eggs per year. Other species have a low egg production: about a hundred eggs per year. Moreover, the largest specimens are obtained precisely from fighting and egg-laying breeds.

Characteristics of egg-laying breeds

If the purpose of breeding a breed is to get an egg, then it is worth stopping at egg-laying birds. There are many different breeds of chickens in this direction, but they all have common features:

1. These birds are not large, weighing no more than three kilograms.
2. Wingspan wide.
3. Roosters have long tail feathers.
4. Earlymaturation of the breed. Egg-laying begins no later than five months.

The most egg-laying breeds of chickens can be kept in cages. To get offspring from laying hens, it is necessary to have an incubator, since the bird is devoid of the instinct of incubation. Although the hen may begin to incubate the eggs, it does not fully incubate.

Breed selection

All the most egg-laying breeds of chickens are compared before making the final choice. Typically, the following information is used for comparison:

• egg production per year;
• egg weight;
• chicken he alth;
• offspring survival rate;
• complex care, frost resistance;
• feeding diet (there are breeds that require a special diet).

By comparing the data, you can say exactly which breeds of chickens are the most egg-laying, and an assessment of the information will help you decide which is best for you.

Breeds

There are many different breeds of egg direction. The most egg-laying breeds of chickens that can lay eggs in winter are as follows:

• Russian White;
• leghorns;
• broken brown;
• highsex;
• highline;
• Kuchinsky anniversary;
• iza brown;
• tetra;
• minorca.

What do poultry farmers say about them? Judging by the reviews, the most egg-laying breeds of chickens can lay an egg every day. At the same time, the bird rarely rests - for about two months, laying hens do not rush for a year (usually this period falls on molting).

Russian White

The breed was bred in the USSR. It officially appeared in 1953. The breed is characterized by a white feather color. Chicks are born with yellow down.

Wondering what breed of chickens is the most egg-laying? Reviews will help you navigate the choice of birds. It could be Russian White. This bird is characterized by the following:

1. Laying hens are not large, weighing about 1.8 kg, and roosters weigh more - about 2.5 kg.
2. In the first year, the laying hen lays up to 210 eggs, each weighing 55 g.
3. Early ripening of the bird. Bird egg-laying begins at the age of five months.
4. Excellent performance in the safety of adult birds and young birds (92 and 95% respectively).

Cultivated lines are capable of producing up to 300 or more eggs per year.

This breed of chicken, according to farmers, has excellent he alth. They are easy to care for. The bird has a high frost resistance, so for its maintenance there is no need to heat the chicken coop. Russian whites feel great in any weather. At the same time, even in severe frosts, laying hens continue to lay eggs.

Leghorns

This breed originated in Italy in the nineteenth century. In those days, birds were no different from ordinary chickens. From Italy, leghorns came to the USA, where they began to cross with other breeds to obtain a new line. After such work, the leghorn breed began to refer to crosses. The work of breeders was aimed at increasing egg production and rapidyoung growth.

According to the description, the most egg-laying breeds of chickens (you can see photos of representatives in the article) can have a very different color. Leghorns have more than twenty varieties of colors, among which white is considered the most popular.

Laying hens weigh 1.6-2 kg, roosters weigh up to 2.8 kg. Sexual maturity occurs at the age of 18 weeks. In a year, a laying hen can lay about 300 eggs with a white shell, each weighing up to 60 g. The breed's highest egg production is observed in the first year of life. Therefore, they do not keep birds for more than a year, but change them for young ones.

Laying hens have no brooding instinct, so chicks are only hatched. The percentage of hatching of chicks is quite high - about 95%.

Leggorns are characterized by rapid growth and excellent adaptability to various conditions.

Broken Brown

Among the most egg-laying breeds of laying hens, it is worth highlighting broken browns. The branch is one of the most precocious, representatives are able to start laying eggs at the age of 5 months. With good care and proper feeding, the bird produces at least 310 eggs weighing up to 80 g per year. Egg production lasts for three years.

Egg-laying breed of chickens Lohman-brown is the earliest, but it is recommended to keep it until the age of 80 weeks, and then send it to the soup.

The breed can be used for meat, but the weight of these chickens is not very large. Roosters at six months of age weigh about three kilograms, and laying hens - about two. If you need to get a large yield of meat, you should think aboutmeat breeds that grow rapidly and can already weigh more than 4 kilograms at 4 months.

Highsex

The article presents the most egg-laying breeds of chickens - with photos and with names (i.e., names), and among them is the Highsex breed. A bird at home is able to regularly lay eggs for two years. Then the egg production drops. However, in large farms, the bird is kept for no more than a year, replacing it with young ones.

As the reviews say, chickens perfectly tolerate cellular content. Under such conditions, they are able to produce an egg every day.

Laying chicken starts at the age of 5 months. The average egg weight is 60 grams. Moreover, the bird will rush for quite a long time - from 5 months to 2 years of life. Then the production is reduced by about half.

The Highsex breed is not kept for meat. These are exclusively egg chickens. The weight of the laying hen does not exceed 1.8 kilograms, so keeping it for the sake of meat is impractical.

The breed has no maternal instinct, so chickens are bred in incubators. The hatch rate is about 90% of fertilized eggs.

Highline

There are two types of high line breed. These are white and brown chickens. They differ not only in plumage color, but also in other characteristics.

Exterior data for laying hens are similar. Both breeds have a large pink crest, pink oval earrings. The head is small, thick neck, beak is strong, yellow. Birdcharacterized by a broad back, medium length tail. The wing is developed, close to the body.

The peculiarity of the breed is its high degree of preservation. The loss of laying hens does not exceed 5%. When incubating eggs, a high survival rate is approximately 96%.

Despite similar external data, birds with different feather colors have different quantitative indicators. White hens begin laying when they reach the age of 140 days, and brown - ten days later. Brown adult layers weigh more than white ones (about 500 grams). Browns eat more food per day (about 120 grams per head), but their egg productivity is lower - about 330 eggs per year. White chickens, according to the reviews of poultry farmers, are capable of laying up to 350 eggs. High-line breed lays very large eggs, weighing up to 80 grams.

Kuchinsky anniversary

This breed was bred in the Moscow region at the Kuchinsky breeding farm. The bird was officially approved in 1990.

Kuchinsky chicken is characterized by the following exterior data:

• small leaf comb;
• yellow-red eyes;
• beak yellow, long;
• long torso;
• wide back;
• chest deep;
• legs are yellow, strong.

Most laying hens are golden in color and have a band around the neck. The undercoat is greyish. On the body there are large drawings in the form of a dotted line or an arc.

Roosters have an unusual red plumage with a golden mane and lower back. The chest and tail are black with a greenish sheen.

By quantitative indicatorsthis breed can be grown not only for eggs, but also for meat. In roosters, body weight can reach four kilograms, and laying hens - three. In the first year, a chicken can lay up to 200 eggs. In the second year, egg production increases.

Laying hens start laying eggs at 5 months of age. The shell is light brown in color, the weight of the egg is about 60 grams.

The safety of an adult bird is average, about 88%, and chicks - about 93%. Despite this, the eggs have a fairly high fertility rate.

Isa Brown

In appearance, Iza brown is a typical representative of egg-laying breeds. The laying hen is miniature, has a light skeleton and brown plumage. She has a small head, yellow legs, and a pinkish crest.

Bettas have a light, slightly yellowish plumage, while laying hens have a darker plumage. However, chickens with white feathers are found in the breed, but brown individuals are most often seen.

The average weight of a laying hen is about two kilograms. She starts laying eggs at 18 weeks of age. The laying period continues until 90 weeks.

The peculiarity of the breed is that it can be kept in cages. With aviary content, chickens do not need a lot of space for walking.

If you decide to get this breed, please note that this is a hybrid. He is always deficient in vitamins and minerals. This is due to the genetic feature of the cross.

Tetra

Tetra chickens are valued for their early onset of egg production. They arereach sexual maturity at 4 months. At first, laying hens carry medium-sized eggs weighing about 45 grams. Gradually, their weight increases and reaches sixty grams.

A chicken is capable of laying up to three hundred eggs a year. The shell color is brown. The tetra, like most laying hens, lacks a brooding instinct. Therefore, an incubator is needed to produce offspring.

Chickens are more meat and egg direction. The weight of a laying hen is about three kilograms, the roosters weigh half a kilo more.

Tetra hens can be white, brown, golden. Colored roosters are more colorful than laying hens.

When choosing an egg-laying breed, it is worth considering not only the average egg production, but also the conditions for keeping chickens. Some breeds can be kept in cages, while others need to be provided with enough room to walk.