Best Egg Laying Chicken Breeds: Top Contenders
Let’s uncover the top contenders in the egg-laying contest. From heritage breeds to hybrid chickens, these champions will overflow your breakfast table with fluffy omelets and sunny side-ups. Grab your appetite and join us to discover the best egg-laying chicken breeds!
Best Egg Laying Chicken Breeds
When it comes to keeping chickens for eggs, selecting the right breed is crucial. While all chickens lay eggs, certain breeds are known for their exceptional egg-laying abilities.
We will explore the best egg-laying chicken breeds, categorizing them into two groups: heritage breeds and hybrid chickens. Heritage breeds are purebred chickens, and hybrid chickens are mixed breeds created especially to carry certain treats, such as large egg production.
We will discuss each breed’s popularity, egg production capacity, and distinctive characteristics. But let’s start by giving a top 10 of BEST egg-laying chickens, both heritage and hybrid.
- ISA Brown
- Green Queen
- Golden Comet
- Leghorn
- Brahma
- Calico Princess
- Australorp
- Sapphire Gem
- Sapphire Olive Egger
- Sapphire Splash
These breeds are popular for their exceptional egg-laying capacities, friendly personalities, and adaptability to different environments. Whether you choose a heritage breed or a hybrid, these chickens will provide you with a large supply of fresh eggs.
Best Egg Laying Heritage Chicken Breeds
If you’re not up to keeping hybrid chickens because of their shorter lifespan or uncertain looks, there are plenty of heritage breeds to choose from that lay a large number of eggs.
- Leghorn
- Australorp
- Rhode Island Red
- Orpington
- Brahma
- Sussex
- Cream Legbar
- Hampbar
- Welsummer
- Plymouth Rock
1. Leghorn
The Leghorn chicken is renowned for its great egg production, making it a favorite among backyard flock owners. Leghorns can lay up to 300 large, white eggs per year. They are active, hardy, and excellent foragers but require more space than other breeds.
2. Australorp
Originating from Australia, Australorps are great egg layers, with some laying up to 300 brown eggs annually. They are known for their calm temperament and adaptability to various climates and, therefore, an excellent choice for backyard flocks.
3. Rhode Island Red
Rhode Island Reds are famous for their versatility, excelling in egg and meat production. They typically lay around 250 brown eggs per year. These birds are hardy, adaptable, and assertive, making them popular for beginners.
4. Orpington
Orpingtons are beloved for their docile nature, making them suitable for chicken keepers with small children. They lay approximately 250 brown eggs annually. With their fluffy feathers and friendly nature, Orpingtons make great pets.
5. Brahma
Brahmas are known for their large size, heavily feathered body, and docile nature. They have a decent egg production rate, with some strains laying between 250 and 300 brown eggs annually. Because of their heavy feathering, Brahmas are also extremely winter-hardy.
6. Sussex
Sussex chickens are known for their beautiful plumage and friendly disposition. The most well-known version of the Sussex chicken is the Speckled Sussex, with its amazing color pattern. They lay approximately 250 tinted to brown-colored eggs per year. Sussex hens are great foragers and do well in free-range environments.
7. Cream Legbar
Cream Legbars are prized for their unique blue or green-colored eggs, adding a fun touch to your egg basket. They lay around 250 medium-sized eggs annually and are known for their friendly but active temperament.
8. Hampbar
Hampbars are a rare heritage breed that excels in egg production and meat. They lay up to 240 brown eggs per year. Known for their calm and friendly personality, but Hampbars are also great dual-purpose birds.
9. Welsummer
Welsummers are known for their beautiful dark brown eggs, resembling chocolate eggs. They lay between 200 and 280 eggs per year. Welsummers are active foragers and have a calm and friendly personality.
10. Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rocks lay around 200 to 280 brown eggs per year. They are calm and friendly but can be assertive towards other breeds. The barred Plymouth Rock is the most popular color variety.
Best Egg-Laying Hybrid Chickens
If your primary focus is maximizing the daily amount of fresh eggs and you are not particularly interested in heritage breeds, opting for hybrid chickens is the way to go.
These specially bred chickens excel in egg production, harnessing the best qualities from various breeds. With their outstanding productivity, low maintenance requirements, and hardy nature, hybrids are the ideal choice for those seeking a consistent supply of eggs.
- ISA Brown
- Green Queen
- Golden Comet
- Calico Princess
- California White
- Sapphire Gem
- Sapphire Splash
- Sapphire Olive Egger
- Easter Eggers
- Cinnamon Queen
1. ISA Brown
ISA Brown chickens are among the world’s most popular egg-laying chicken breeds. Not only do they lay almost one egg daily, but these birds are also very hardy and low in maintenance. ISA Brown is the official name for what most people call a regular brown laying hen.
They are one of the best egg-laying hens in the world and were bred specifically for that purpose. These hybrid chickens are also used in the egg industry. ISA browns lay around 320 large brown eggs annually.
2. Green Queen
Green Queen chickens are a new version of Easter Eggers, meaning they’ll lay green to olive-colored eggs. They are excellent layers, as they were developed as an egg-laying breed. They lay up to 4 to 6 eggs per week, more than 300 annually!
3. Golden Comet
Golden Comets are known as red sex-linked chickens and are an extremely beginner-friendly chicken breed. They are excellent egg layers and lay around 300 eggs yearly. That’s up to six eggs per week. Although Golden Comets are smaller-sized chickens, they lay medium to large eggs.
4. Calico Princess
If you’re looking for a docile bird that’s easy to maintain and provides many eggs, the Calico Princess is a good choice! On top of that, you can enjoy their beautiful tricolored plumage.
A Calico Princess was bred to be a good layer, so it could be exported to Europe, Asia, and North America to produce eggs on self-sufficient farms. They lay over 300 eggs annually, that’s almost an egg daily.
5. California White
The California White is a perfect choice if you’re looking for a productive and easy-to-manage chicken. This hybrid offers impressive egg production, hardiness, and a docile temperament. They are great layers, with hens laying approximately 300 large white eggs annually. That’s up to six eggs weekly. This means you’ll have plenty of fresh eggs for your family or to share with friends and neighbors.
6. Sapphire Gem
The Sapphire Gem is a sex-linked Plymouth Rock cross. They were created to lay a large number of eggs in harsh production conditions. This includes suboptimal confinement conditions and hot climates like Nigeria and Ghana. The birds are now used in farming from Europe to Nepal and can lay up to 290 brown eggs yearly.
7. Sapphire Splash
Sapphire Splash chickens are a relatively new breed in the poultry world. These chickens are known for being prolific layers, producing large, brown eggs at a high rate. On average, a Sapphire Splash hen will lay 290 eggs yearly, more than five eggs per week.
8. Sapphire Olive Egger
One of the main reasons people choose to keep chickens in their backyard is the fresh batch of eggs every day. And the Sapphire Olive Egger does not disappoint in this aspect.
These chickens are prolific egg layers, with hens producing up to 290 eggs yearly. That’s more than five eggs per week. Most Sapphire Olive Eggers lay olive-colored eggs, but there will be a small percentage of brown egg layers.
9. Easter Eggers
Easter Eggers are also known as rainbow egg layers because of the beautiful color palette they can produce. They are a cross between a brown egg layer and a blue egg layer and can therefore lay eggs of all sorts of colors, including blue, green, brown, and even pink.
Easter eggers produce a good amount of eggs, between 200 – 280 eggs per year. That’s around four to five eggs per week. They will probably start laying at around seven months.
The great thing about Easter Eggers is they have an above-average lifespan for a hybrid chicken; some even live up to ten years.
10. Cinnamon Queen
Cinnamon Queen chickens not only have a lovely name, but they are also an amazingly hardy breed. Cinnamons are a mix of two well-known chicken breeds, the Rhode Island Red and Silver Laced Wyandotte.
Cinnamons are good egg layers and lay between 250 and 300 large brown eggs annually. They’ll start laying at only 16 to 18 weeks old and keep laying during the winter.
Things To Keep in Mind With Hybrid Chickens
While hybrid chickens offer exceptional egg-laying abilities, it’s worth considering some potential drawbacks. One significant aspect is their shorter lifespan compared to heritage breeds. Most hybrid chickens have a lifespan of around 2 to 4 years, much shorter than the average lifespan of heritage breeds, ranging from 5 to 10 years or more.
Another thing to remember is that hybrid chickens significantly decline their egg production after the first years. They lay a remarkable number of eggs during their peak production, but their egg-laying capacity will slow down or cease as they age.
Of course, the exact lifespan and egg-laying performance of hybrids will vary from bird to bird. But overall, their peak egg-laying period is generally expected to be shorter compared to heritage breeds.
Summary
Selecting the right chicken for optimal egg production depends on personal priorities and preferences. Heritage breeds such as Leghorns, Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Australorps, and others offer a combination of egg-laying prowess and unique characteristics. They also have longer lifespans and will provide more consistent egg production.
Hybrid chickens like the Isa Brown, Calico Princess, and Green Queen are specifically bred for their great egg-laying abilities. They exhibit high productivity and extreme hardiness and are low in maintenance. However, it’s important to be aware that hybrids generally have shorter lifespans and will experience a decline in egg production after only a few years.
There are hundreds of chicken breeds in the world! If you want to get to know them all, rare or common, heritage or hybrid, go to our ‘All Chicken Breeds & Types Worldwide: List of 500+ Breeds‘.
