Best Laying Hen Breeds
When we started raising backyard chickens, we put a lot of thought and research into the best laying hen breeds. Learning which breeds were best for our purpose saved us time and money by avoiding buying chickens unsuitable for what we wanted. Twenty years later, we know which breeds work best for us. So which is the best chicken for laying the largest eggs? Below is my pick for the 5 best laying hen breeds. Backyard Laying Hen Breeds All hens produce edible eggs, but which ones are the best egg-layer chicken breeds? I prefer brown eggs, so I base my breed choices on ones known for laying brown eggs. However, brown eggs are not healthier than white eggs: I just like brown eggs. The chicken’s diet controls eggs’ health benefits, the yolk’s richness and color, and the bird’s overall health. Many people argue that you can’t taste the difference between store-bought eggs and fresh eggs—I say, “baloney” – because the yolks are richer, more nutritious, and have a better taste than any eggs in the grocery store. Raising chickens organically and cage-free produces healthier and tastier eggs and meat. Once you try organic meat chicken, free of antibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals, you’ll never want chicken from the store again. Treats for Your Girls – They’ll Love Them 5 Best Egg Layer Hens Rhode Island Red: This is my favorite layer due to their medium-sized brown eggs and above-average laying rate. Being cold and heat-hardy, Rhode Island Reds are suitable for any climate. They are easy to care for because they adapt well to a penned or free-range environment. Reds are aggressive, so be careful what breeds you place them with. This dual-purpose breed is well-known for both egg production and meat. If you want a do-everything breed, the Rhode Island Red is the one to pick. Leghorn: These chickens lay extra-large white eggs, producing over 300 a year. Even with their smaller size, they make an excellent dual-purpose chicken, using them for meat once their laying production declines. If you want a meatier chicken go with the Plymouth Rock. Their egg production is lower but they are a large chicken, with an average weight of 10 pounds. While I prefer brown eggs, I always include a few Leghorns for their terrific laying rates. Buff Orpington: This breed has above-average production of large brown eggs. Their friendly nature and cold weather hardiness make them excellent beginner chickens. The Orpington is a good brooder and a wonderful mother if you plan to raise chicks. They also make good pets; I wouldn’t have a flock without one or two Orpingtons. However, other birds pick on them because of their docile nature, so they don’t do well with aggressive breeds. Black Star: The hens are above-average layers of large brown eggs and begin lying around five months. They are a hardy breed and easy to raise. These hybrid chickens are a cross between Barred Rock hens and Rhode Island Red roosters. The chicks are easily color sexed, meaning you identify males and females by color. The males are black, while hens have gold plumage on their necks and breast. The Black Star is another good beginner breed with a calm nature, making them good pets. Ameraucana: Also known as Easter Eggers, these backyard chickens lay eggs in shades of blue, blue-green, green, and cream. These easy-to-handle birds lay medium-sized eggs, are winter hardy, and have average to above-average egg production. Ameracuanas adapt well to confinement or free range and are calm and non-aggressive, making them good family chickens. Your kids will love collecting the colorful eggs. ? Best Laying Hen Chicken Breeds ? Chicken Breed Egg Laying Stats Rhode Island Red Approx. 200-300 eggs/year Leghorn Approx. 280-320 eggs/year Buff Orpington Approx. 180-220 eggs/year Black Star Approx. 240-280 eggs/year Ameraucana Approx. 180-200 eggs/year Brought to You by thebackyardchickenfarmer.com ? Our Conclusion Try various breeds for your backyard flock. Finding the best egg layer hens starts by understanding your desired results. If you want meat and egg layers, I recommend including dual-purpose chickens like the Leghorn and meat chickens like the Plymouth Rock. A flock of three to four hens gives a family of four an adequate amount of eggs, but I always have a flock of ten, usually more.
Raising Laying Hens
During my many raising adventures in raising laying hens, I found myself in a position I didn’t like. I had to do it and wouldn’t say I liked it. Five days before my family arrives for a holiday, I am standing in the dairy aisle of Sprouts Farmers Market. As I reach toward the gray paper pulp carton, my hand freezes, and a cold sweat covers my forehead. I am slightly over-dramatic, but it irritated me as I snatched the egg carton from the cooler shelf. Molting came early, usually starting the second or third week in December. I put off buying eggs until the last minute, hoping for fresh organic eggs to serve my guests. It wasn’t meant to be. The carton of eggs went home with me. Molting is one of the most irritating problems when raising laying hens and the most common reason your hens stop their egg production. But when they stop laying outside the molting season, other issues may cause your lack of eggs. 1. Improper or poor-quality food 2. Low Calcium 3. Lack of clean, fresh water 4. Dirty coop and nesting boxes 5. Illness and injury 6. Parasites 7. Housing that’s not secure 8. No space to roam Raising Laying Hens and Keeping Them Laying When raising laying hens, the main goal is gathering lots of delicious, organic eggs. But sometimes, flocks take a break from their regular laying schedule, leaving us wondering what to do. Here are eight tips for keeping your hens in top laying condition, delivering you many eggs throughout the year. 1. Use Top Quality Feed Feed is one area of raising chickens you never want to cut corners with. Always feed your girls the highest quality food your budget allows. A huge misconception is that hens need laying pellets for egg production. We found that a higher protein ratio helps with egg production better than laying food. We feed a mixture of egg pellets and game bird ration containing 28% protein. It made a big difference in the production rate and size of the eggs. Our girls like high protein better than laying pellets. We also supplement with kitchen scraps so they get a well-balanced diet and lay amazing eggs. Remember, each flock is different when raising laying hens, so what works for one person’s hens may not work for another. The important thing is using high-quality food and adding fresh greens, mealy worms, vegetables, and other treats to their diet. 2. Add Calcium The makeup of eggshells is 95% calcium, so it makes sense that egg-laying uses this vital element in the hen’s body. Always keep a dish of crushed oyster shells in the chicken pen. Hens know when they need Calcium and will seek the oyster shell. You can find crushed oyster shells wherever you buy your poultry supplies and on Amazon. 3. Plenty of Water Chickens need a constant supply of fresh water. Whether you have hens or roosters, water keeps your chickens healthy and the hens laying. Chickens have discriminating tastes and only like clean water, preferring to stay thirsty over drinking dirty water. Change their drinking water at least once each day. 4. Regular Nesting Box Cleaning Regular nesting box cleaning helps encourage your hens to lay. They like the comfort of clean boxes with a thick layer of bedding. There’s a wide range of materials you can use as bedding. Our girls like straw; we like it because it’s easy to clean, and the dirty straw makes a great addition to the compost pile. Other bedding materials include non-treated sawdust, shredded paper, straw, and recycled newspaper pellets. Never use aromatic wood, like cedar, since it’s bad for a chicken’s respiratory system. 5. Parasite Control Parasites and mites prey on your chickens and infest a coop, and the run before you notice them. Make checking for these pests a part of your chicken inspection routine. Mites are tiny, reddish-brown spots over a chicken’s body and head. Look for mites during the night when they are the most active. When you see mites on your chickens, treat them and the coop simultaneously. If you only treat the chicken and not the coop, they become infested again when they enter the coop. At the first sign of mites, clean the chicken coop and replace all bedding. Sprinkle coops, nesting boxes, roosting areas, and floors with diatomaceous earth. If you don’t mind chemical treatment, you can use seven dust, which won’t harm your chickens. 6. Provide a Secure Home Laying hens need a predator-proof coop to keep animals like cats, raccoons, dogs, and opossums out. Laying hens stay on the nests for long periods, making them an easy target for predators. Coop doors and gates need sturdy latches to keep raccoons from opening them. Place a small hole wire around your pen and coop to deter animals from squeezing through or digging under the enclosure. These extra precautions protect your chickens from injury and death and help stop the loss of eggs by predators. Check out our Predator Proof Chicken Coop article for more information on how to protect your precious laying hens. 7. Let Them Free-Range During our years of raising laying hens, we found chickens are happiest, stay healthier, and lay more eggs while free-ranging. We understand not everyone can do this, but let the hens forage if possible. Our girls are part-time free rangers. We allow them to roam while we are home, then lock them in the coop area at night to protect them from predators. Part-time free-ranging is easier than you might think. It took a few weeks, but our girls go inside the coop alone when the sun sets. We have a solution where everyone benefits: our girls happily graze all day but stay protected at night when predators roam. Plus, they know where their nesting boxes are. We rarely have eggs left outside the boxes unless they can’t make it in time. Before letting your flock free-range, even
Predator Proof Chicken Coop
Protecting chickens from predators is such an important topic, and a predator-proof chicken coop is vital to flock safety. This article helps you determine the type of predators you have and find what works well for safeguarding backyard chickens. In the natural food chain theme, chickens have no predator defense other than some distrust, unlike most animals. Whether predators are wild or domestic, chickens are the perfect prey because of their slowness and the amount of meat on their bodies. Living in the suburbs or city limits does not mean you’re predator-free. Domestic animals, like prowling dogs and cats, threaten the backyard flock as much as wild predators are to the farm flock. How to Protect Chickens from Predators How you protect chickens depends on what predators are in your area. Different predators need different methods of protection. Understanding the types of predators posing a threat can give your chickens better security while reducing losses. If you are unsure of the predator types in your area, talk to your neighbors or contact local authorities or animal control. There are several defenses for protecting your chickens from predators. Protecting your flock from predators is an ongoing job. Whatever options you choose, predator protection must be inspected and maintained often. In most cases, more than one or even all of these predator protections are necessary for protecting your flock. Whether you live in the city or rural areas, predators threaten all chicken flocks and their eggs. I receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
The 5 Best Meat Chicken Breeds
Are you thinking about raising meat chickens in a backyard and wondering which meat chicken breeds are best? With the growing popularity of raising backyard chickens comes an increasing interest in raising meat chickens. Dual-purpose chickens, those yielding both eggs and meat, are the most popular. But many backyard chicken farmers are turning to meat chickens for their better flavor. Like egg layers, a different result comes with different meat chicken breeds. Choosing the best meat chicken breeds depends on what you’relooking to achieve. Best Breeds for Raising Meat Chickens in a Backyard Broilers Broilers are chickens raised specifically for meat. They grow much faster than egg-laying hens or dual-purpose breeds. Most broilers have a fast growth rate, high feed conversion ratio, and low activity levels. In five weeks, broilers can reach a dressed weight of 4-5 pounds. Usually raised for meat and egg production, dual-purpose breeds are smaller with a slower growth rate. Cornish Cross The Cornish Cross is an excellent, fast-growing broiler. Harvest time for a 4-pound broiler usually is 7 to 8 weeks. Their body makeup is superb, with broad breasts, large legs and thighs, and rich yellow skin. Jersey Giant Originating in the United States, this bird was developed to replace the turkey. A purebred chicken, the Giant’s weight averages 11-13 pounds. Jersey Giants grow slower than other meat birds, about six months to full maturity, making them undesirable to the commercial industry. While initially a meat chicken, today, the Giant is prized as a dual-purpose bird, laying extra-large brown eggs. Heritage / Heirloom When describing Heritage chickens, the words heirloom, old-fashioned, and antique come to mind. The American Poultry Association began defining these breeds in 1873, setting standards for birds as being well adapted to various climates, hardy and long-lived, and reproducing at a rate to provide a protein source to the growing nation. As chicken breeding became industrialized, fast-growing hybrids replaced these breeds. Today, more than three dozen chicken breeds are in danger of extinction. To avoid irreversible loss caused by the end of a breed, The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy sets standards for marketing these as Heritage. I love Heritage breeds, preferring them to the newer, fast-growing breeds. They are large, meaty chickens, and many also produce many eggs. I usually buy my Heritage breeds online since they are harder to find locally than more popular breeds. Heritage Chicken Breeds: Campine, Chantecler, Crevecoeur, Holland, Modern Game, Nankin, Redcap, Russian Orloff, Spanish, Sultan, Sumatra, Yokohama, Andalusian, Buckeye, Buttercup, Cubalaya, Delaware, Dorking, Faverolles, Java, Lakenvelder, Langshan, Malay, Phoenix, Ancona, Aseel, Brahma, Catalana, Cochin, Cornish, Dominique, Hamburg, Houdan, Jersey Giant, La Fleche, Minorca, New Hampshire, Old English Game, Polish, Rhode Island White, Sebright, Shamo, Australorp, Leghorn- Non-industrial, Orpington, Plymouth Rock , Rhode Island Red – Non-industrial, Sussex, Wyandotte , Araucana, Iowa Blue, Lamona, Manx Rumpy (Persian Rumpless), Naked Neck (Turken). Preferred Heritage Meat Chicken Breeds: Delaware—A heavy-bodied bird, the male can weigh up to 8.5 pounds and the female 6.5 pounds. Originating from the U.S., Delaware is hardy in heat and cold and matures quickly. The meat is delicious, and the hens lay jumbo eggs. Delawares have calm and friendly dispositions. Dorking – This relatively calm bird is non-aggressive and does well around children and small dogs. Another dual-purpose chicken, theDorking is a superior table fowl with tender flesh, meaty breasts, and wings. It is a productive winter layer, providing a steady egg supply when other breeds are not laying. Good broody hens and excellent mothers stay with their chicks much longer than other breeds. Buckeye is the only American breed exclusively created by a woman, developed by Mrs. Nettie Metcalf of Warren, Ohio. This dual-purposebreed is very cold weather hardy and adapts to various living conditions. However, they are very active and do not do well in confined spaces, adapting best to free-range. Hens lay medium-sized brown eggs and weigh an average of 6.5 pounds; roosters average 9 pounds. Conclusion When you plan to raise meat chickens in a backyard, consider your backyard space and setup and the time you must devote. You can use most backyard chicken breeds for meat chickens, but each breed differs in flavor and meat texture. The backyard chicken breeds in this article are suitable for the table. Check out our article Raising Meat Chickens for more information about meat chickens.
Baby Chicks: 7 Places to Get Them
Even though it’s still cold in different areas of the country, now is the time for planning and buying baby chicks for eggs and meat. If you’re at the stage of building your flock, it means you already know what chickens you want to raise. Whether you want laying hens or meat chickens, you will not have a successful backyard chicken farm if you don’t know where to get high-quality chickens. Those new to raising chickens may need help knowing where to buy a flock. The problem is that there’s very little condensed information about hatcheries and breeders. In this article, we list our favorite hatcheries with a synopsis of each one and what they offer. We also include the difference between breeders and hatcheries and which is best for your needs. Buying Baby Chicks: Hatcheries vs. Breeders Choosing a breeder or a hatchery depends on what you plan for your chickens. If you’re looking for egg layers or meat chickens, a hatchery is your best choice for buying baby chicks. But if you plan to raise show chickens, like the Brahma and the Cochin, a breeder is the best way to go. One misconception is that breeder chickens don’t lay as many eggs as those from a hatchery. On the opposite end of the spectrum, others say chickens from a breeder lay better: total BS on both accounts. A chicken has X number of eggs during their lifetime, with their most prolific laying period from one to four years. Once they lay the predetermined number of eggs, they quit laying. The number of eggs you get depends on the chicken breed and not who hatched the egg. Rhode Island Red and Leghorn hens lay 250-300 eggs yearly, while Delaware and Easter Eggers only lay 150-200 eggs yearly. Hatcheries You can find hatcheries in different states, with most willing to ship their baby chicks to you. Most offer a variety of breeds, including layers, meat chickens, Bantams, and exotic birds. It’s not always possible, depending on what we’re looking for; we prefer using a hatchery close to us. Commercial hatcheries have a continuous assembly line of hatching eggs, with thousands of chicks born each week. Once you place your order, day-old chicks are shipped to the post office closest to you and delivered within 72 hours. Our favorite hatcheries:
Heritage Chicken Breeds
Heritage Chicken Breeds History Chickens and their eggs are a main part of the American diet. Since making their first appearance with Spanish explorers we’ve seen breeds developed specifically for enhanced meat and egg production. In 1873, the American Poultry Association published chicken breeds defined by the Standard of Perfection. The standard breeds defined adapted easily to production outdoors, in different climates. These early birds, or Heritage Chickens, were long-lived, hearty breeds with their reproduction a protein source for America’s growing population until the middle 1900’s. When chickens became industrialized between 1940 and 1960, the Heritage breeds were less prominent. Hybrid breeds, with their ready from chick to table in 8 weeks, became dominant to satisfy public demand. Today, many Heritage breeds face extinction with more than 3 dozen on the Livestock Conservancy’s endangered list. Heritage Chicken Breeds Standards The Livestock Conservancy issues strict guidelines for breeds defined and marketed as Heritage Chickens and they must meet all set forth standards to qualify. A Heritage Breed comes from an American Poultry Association Standard Breed, both parent and grandparent stock. Naturally mated through breed pairs of both parent and grandparent. Genetic ability for a long and vigorous life, thriving in pasture-based production. Heritage Chickens must have a slow growth rate, with market weight taking a minimum of 16 weeks. More of What Makes Heritage Chicken Breeds Heritage Chicken guidelines also state labels must include the breed name and variety. This rule includes terms like old-time, antique, heirloom, and old-fashioned—all synonymous with Heritage Chickens. Chickens hatched from Heritage Eggs must come from Heritage Standard Breeds recognized by the American Poultry Association and established before the mid-20th century. 15 Better Known Heritage Chicken Breeds
Why Chickens Stop Laying Eggs
The most common reason people give for becoming backyard chicken farmers is the eggs. With growing concern over what goes into our food supply and some of the abhorrent conditions on factory farms, people are taking back control of their food production