If you are new in the poultry business and want to make money by selling eggs, then you have landed on the right article. This article will help you figure out which layer chicken breed is best to start with.

Most beginners are unaware of the fact that the breed of layer chicken makes a difference. Some layer chicken breeds can lay more eggs than others. So it’s crucial to choose the right breed if you want a fresh and large number of eggs in a year.

Below is the list of layer chicken breed

Hybrid

Hybrid is one of the most productive breeds of layer chicken. They can lay a huge amount of eggs while only consumers little food, which is why it is cheaper layer chicken breed. You can expect a hybrid hen to lay more than 300 eggs in a year. Eggs that hybrid hen lays are medium-size and are brown in color.

You can identify a hybrid hen by its color. They are golden-brown in color and have a soft white tail feather. They are tough chickens. So if you want eggs throughout the years, you can get hybrid hens.

Rhode Island Red

Rhode island red is another popular layer chicken breed. They can lay around 5-6 eggs a week, which is around 260 plus eggs a year. If you can provide them all the necessary things, they can be more productive. They require a clean environment and a nutritious diet to be productive.

They lay brown eggs and are medium size. You can recognize Rhode island red chicken by its dark complexion. They have brown and black feathers giving them a tough appearance. If you are thinking of raising Rhode island red chicken, you won’t have any problem as they are friendly to the keeper.

Leghorn

Leghorn is a good layer chicken that can give you above 300 eggs a year. They are considered to be a good breed of layer chicken as they can lay a good quantity of eggs at the age of 4 months. So, at a very young age, you can expect them to produce eggs.

They are beautiful white body chickens with a red comb. Leghorn can be ideal for beginners only if you have the patience to handle them. They are known to be shy and hard to tame. So, if you are willing to give full time to build a bond with the chicken, you can go get leghorn.

Sussex

Sussex is recognized for laying a standard-sized egg. The best part of raising Sussex is that this chicken can lay eggs even during cold winter, when other layer breeds may stop laying eggs. Sussex can lay four to five eggs per week. The eggs from Sussex are cream to light brown in color.

They are a very calm breed of layer chicken, so you don’t have to worry about your garden being destroyed by them. And you won’t have any difficulties building bond with Sussex. If you want a layer breed that eats only if you feed them, then you would definitely want Sussex.

Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Rocks are large chicks with a triangular body and broad back. They roughly lay four eggs per week, which makes it keeper easy to handle them as they lay once in two days. So, raising Plymouth Rock will be quite easy for the first-time chicken keeper.

This breed of layer chicken is grey in color and has white stripes on its body. The eggs they lay are medium size and are light brown in color. Plymouth rock prefers to live a free lifestyle and is a very friendly lay chicken that is easy to tame.

Ancona

Ancona is a layer chicken that has a reputation for being a reliable layer breed. This breed of layer chicken experience early maturity and start laying when they turn 18 weeks old. You need to take good care of Ancona so that it can be very productive.

They can lay around five eggs per week, and it totally depends upon the quality of diet you provide. You need to give them a protein-rich diet for them to be productive. Ancona is quite easy to raise, you just have to focus on giving them a nutritious diet. You may consult an expert to formulate a proper diet for ancona.

Barnevelder

Barnevelder doesn’t produce many eggs compared to other layer chicken breeds so it is good to start with. They will give around 150 eggs per year. And their egg size varies from medium to large, and eggs are brown in color. This layer chicken breed can start laying eggs at the age of 28 weeks.   

Actually, they are slow developers. They need a good environment and food to be fully developed to lay eggs. You can place them in a garden pen, and you don’t have to worry about clipping their feather as they are not good flyers.

Hamburg

Hamburg is a beautiful layer chicken that starts laying at the age of 4-5 months. They are a robust breed of layer chicken and are very active when they are set free. They can lay around 200 medium size white eggs per year.

You need to provide Hamburg enough space for them to roam around. They don’t prefer to sit inside the chicken pen. They can be very noisy and aggressive when placed in a small area. So, you need to ensure that there is enough space before Hamburg arrives.