The hens that are famous and popular for their egg production are called laying hens. There are various types of laying hens throughout the world.
Some of them are highly egg productive and some produce less eggs. Some of them lay brown colored eggs and some lay various colored eggs.
However, most of the people raise some hens in their own backyard for the purpose of producing few fresh and organic eggs for their daily family consumption.
If you wish to raise some hens for fresh eggs, then you have to choose best egg laying breeds which is suitable for raising in your area.
Various Types of Laying Hens
There are numerous breeds available, several breeds intended for specific purpose like egg, meat or pets. Some breeds are dual purpose and suitable for both egg and meat production.
But as you are planning for raising laying hens, so you have to choose some highly egg laying hens. You can classify the hen by the color of eggs they lay.
Also consider the size and frequency of laying eggs while choosing best breeds for your flock. Visit some websites or collect catalog from your nearest hatcheries for getting some idea about the types of laying hens.
Here I am describing about various types of laying hens according to the color of their eggs.
Brown Egg Layers
There are many breeds available that produce brown colored eggs. Red Stars and ISA Browns are hybrid (mixed breed) layers that produce brown colored eggs.
But this type of hybrid hens also include some purebreds that produce brown colored eggs such as Barred Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Red and Buff Orpingtons.
Poultry hatcheries produce hybrid hens for increasing the egg production and developing breeds. And in this system the sex of the bird can be determined according to the color.
This system is called sex-links. Like leghorns and other white egg layers, brown layers may not produce many eggs.
Blue and Green Egg Layers
Some people like to produce blue or green eggs instead of traditional brown or white colored eggs. If you are looking for different colored egg layers too, then you have to choose the breeds that produce green or blue colored eggs.
Araucanas is a blue egg layer. Ameraucana produce blue or blue-green tinted eggs. Easter Egger is another mix breed that produce blue or green eggs. The Araucana is an infrequent layer.
Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers produce less eggs than other common breeds. Both of them lay around 3 to 5 eggs in a week.
Chocolate Egg Layers
Some breeds like Barnevelder, Marans, Penedesenca and Welsummer lay dark brown colored eggs. The color of their eggs varies from terra-cotta to dark chocolate brown.
But they are not as prolific as some other common breeds such as ISA Browns, Leghorns or Rhode Island Reds.
Search for breeders who are specialized in those breeds if you want to raise some chocolate egg layers in your flock.
White Egg Layers
Leghors are the best white egg layers. They lay about 90 percent of withe eggs that you see in stores. They are very prolific and lay about 5 to 6 eggs per week during their fist year of laying.
That means it’s nearly an egg daily. Although Leghors lay more than other breeds, but they tend to be nervous and fighty. So don’t keep other breeds with them.
Ancona, Campine, Hamburg and Minorca are some other popular white egg layers. They are also highly productive.
Along with the above types of laying hens, there are many breeds too. You can also try your local breeds. While choosing breeds, ensure that you can create proper facilities for your laying hens. So that they can grow, live and produce many eggs throughout the year happily.
