By purpose, the breeds 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 able to carry more than three hundred eggs per year. The remaining species have 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 Breeds
If the purpose of breeding a breed is to get an egg, then it is worth stopping precisely at the egg-laying species of bird. There are many different breeds of chickens in this direction, but all have common features:
- These birds are not large in size, weighing no more than three kilograms.
- The wingspan is wide.
- Roosters have long tail plumage.
- Early maturation of the breed. Oviposition starts no later than five months.
Most egg-laying chickens can be kept in cages. In order to receive offspring from laying hens, it is necessary to have an incubator, since the bird is deprived of the instinct of incubation. Although the chicken may begin to incubate eggs, it does not completely hatch.
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 health;
- progeny survival rate;
- complexity of care, frost resistance;
- diet (there are breeds that require a special diet).
By comparing the data, you can accurately say which breeds of chickens are the most egg-laying, and an assessment of the information will help determine which ones are 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;
- leggorny;
- broken brown;
- Highsex
- hi-line;
- Kuchin's anniversary;
- isa brown;
- tetra;
- Minorca.
What do poultry farmers say about them? Judging by the reviews, the most egg-laying chickens can lay an egg every day. At the same time, the bird rarely rests - for a year about two months, laying hens do not rush (usually this period falls on molting).
Russian white
The breed was bred in the USSR. Officially, she appeared in 1953. The breed is characterized by white feather color. Chickens are born with yellow down.
Wondered which breed of chickens is the most egg-laying? Reviews will help you to choose your bird. It can be Russian white. This bird is characterized by the following:
- Layers are not large, weighing about 1.8 kg, and roosters weigh more - about 2.5 kg.
- In the first year, a laying egg lays up to 210 eggs, each weighing 55 g.
- Early bird ripening. Egg production of a bird begins at the age of five months.
- Excellent safety indicators for adult birds and young animals (92 and 95%, respectively).
Selected lines are capable of producing up to 300 or more eggs per year.
This breed of chickens, according to farmers, has excellent health. 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 their eggs.
Leghorn
This breed appeared in Italy in the nineteenth century. In those days, birds did not differ from ordinary chickens. From Italy, the Leggors came to the United States, where they began to cross with other breeds to obtain a new line. After such work, the Leghorn breed became related to crosses. The work of breeders was aimed at increasing egg production and the rapid growth of young animals.
According to the description, the most egg-laying breeds of chickens (photo of representatives you can see in the article) can have a very different color. Leghorn have more than twenty varieties of colors, among which the most popular is white.
The mass of laying hens is 1.6-2 kg, roosters weigh up to 2.8 kg. Puberty occurs at the age of 18 weeks. For a year, a laying hen can lay about 300 eggs with a white shell, each weighing up to 60 g. The highest egg production of the breed is observed in the first year of life. Therefore, they have not kept birds for more than a year, but replaced them with young animals.
Layers do not have a hatching instinct, therefore chickens are hatched only by incubator. The percentage of hatching of chicks is quite high - about 95%.
Leghorns are characterized by rapid growth and excellent adaptability to various conditions of detention.
Broken brown
Among the most egg-laying breeds of laying hens, it is worth highlighting broken brown. The branch belongs to 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 gives at least 310 eggs weighing up to 80 g per year. Egg production lasts for three years.
The egg-laying chicken breed Loman-Brown is the most precocious, 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 to produce meat, but the weight of these chickens is not very large. Roosters at the age of six months weigh about three kilograms, and laying hens weigh about two. If you need to get a large yield of meat, you should think about meat breeds that grow quickly 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. At home, the bird is able to regularly lay eggs for two years. Then the egg production falls. However, in large farms, the bird is kept for no more than a year, replacing it with young animals.
According to reviews, chickens perfectly tolerate cellular content. In such conditions, they are able to give an egg daily.
Chicken starts scampering 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 amount of production is reduced by about half.
Highsex breed is not kept for meat. These are exclusively egg hens. The weight of the laying hen does not exceed 1.8 kilograms, so keeping it for meat’s sake is not practical.
The breed has no maternal instinct, so chickens are hatched in incubators. The hatchability percentage is about 90% of the fertilized eggs.
Hi-line
There are two types of breed online. These are white and brown hens. They differ not only in the color of plumage, but also in other characteristics.
Exterior data are similar in layers. Both breeds have a large pink crest, pink oval earrings. The head is small, thick neck, beak strong, yellow. The bird is characterized by a broad back, medium length tail. The wing is developed, tightly adjacent to the body.
The peculiarity of the breed is in its high degree of preservation. The mortality of layers does not exceed 5%. When the eggs are incubated, a high survival rate is approximately 96%.
Despite similar external data, birds with different feather colors have different quantitative indicators. White hens begin to rush when they reach 140 days of age, and brown hens ten days later. Adult laying hens of brown color weigh more than white (about 500 grams). Browns eat more feed 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 able to lay up to 350 eggs. The breed online carries very large eggs, weighing up to 80 grams.
Kuchinsky anniversary
This breed was bred in the Moscow region at the Kuchinsky breeding plant. The bird was officially approved in 1990.
For Kuchinsky chicken, the following exterior data are characteristic:
- small leaf crest;
- eyes are yellow-red;
- bill is yellow, long;
- long torso;
- wide back;
- chest is deep;
- legs are yellow, strong.
Most of the layers are golden in color, and there is a border on the neck. The swelling is grayish. On the body there are large drawings in the form of a dotted line or arc.
Roosters have an unusual red plumage with a golden mane and lower back. Chest and tail are black with a greenish sheen.
By quantitative indicators, this 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, the chicken is able to lay up to 200 eggs. In the second year, egg production increases.
Laying hens begin to lay eggs at the age of 5 months. The shell is light brown in color and weighs about 60 grams.
The safety of an adult bird is average, about 88%, and chicks - about 93%. Despite this, eggs have a fairly high percentage of fertility.
Isa Brown
In its appearance, isa brown is a typical representative of egg-laying breeds. The layer is tiny, has a light skeleton and brown plumage. She has a small head, yellow legs, and a pinkish tinge.
The males have a light, slightly yellowish plumage, and in hens it is darker. However, chickens with a white feather are found in the breed, but most often brown individuals can be seen.
The average weight of a layer is about two kilograms. She begins to lay her eggs at 18 weeks of age. The period of egg production lasts up to 90 weeks.
The peculiarity of the breed is that it can be kept in cells. With enclosures, chickens do not need much space for walking.
If you decide to get this breed, keep in mind that this is a hybrid. He always lacks vitamins and minerals. This is due to the genetic characteristics of cross.
Tetra
Tetra chickens are appreciated for the early onset of egg production. They reach maturity as early as 4 months. At first, laying eggs lay 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 per year. The color of the shell is brown. The tetra, like most hens, lacks the instinct of incubation. Therefore, to obtain offspring, an incubator is needed.
Chickens belong more to the meat-producing direction. The weight of a layer is about three kilograms; roosters weigh half a kilo more.
Layers tetra can be white, brown, golden. Colored roosters are brighter than laying hens.
When choosing an egg 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, but there are those that need to be provided with fairly spacious walking grounds.