What chicken breed lays the most eggs is a question asked by poultry farmers who want to keep chickens for egg production.
It is a great thing to do as you get many supply of this protein source; eggs.
Certain chicken breeds can make great pets but if you are looking specifically for a chicken breed for maximum egg production, your breed choice is a very important consideration.
If you want a mix of high egg laying ability and chicken breed for the best entertainment and companionship, you should follow our list of the best breeds to buy for maximum egg laying!
Note: Buying a breed hugely popular for its high egg production doesn’t guarantee that they will lay many eggs, as there are several other factors involved.
Table of Contents
What Chicken Breed Lays The Most Eggs?
Chicken breed that lays the most eggs include: White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, Ameraucana, New Hampshire Red, sussex etc.
Broodiest Chicken for Eggs
Under normal circumstances, here are the best performing chicken breeds that give you the highest egg volume.
White Leghorn
These beautiful birds can lay more than 280 white eggs in their first year. They are more popular in the United States than the UK because of the egg color preference between the 2 countries.
- Rhode Island Red
This breed is robust and intelligent, needing almost no care and yet still produces around 250 medium size eggs each year.
Ameraucana
Popularly known as the “Easter Egger”, these birds wil lay up to 250 eggs per year. They handle all climates well and are fun and broody in temperament.
New Hampshire Red
Well, not the most prolific egg layer like the rest, you can still get about 200 eggs in the first laying year.
They can in some cases be competitive and aggressive in nature making them less desirable as pets.
Best Chickens for Eggs and Companionship
These are the top performing chickens in terms of temperament as pets while also providing a steady volume of eggs to meet your needs.
Sussex
The Sussex chicken breed is very calm and easy to tame breed. It can deliver up to 250 eggs per year.
Goldline (Hybrid)
In their first year, you can look forward to getting up to 320 large chicken eggs from these top egg laying machine! They are friendly and a great option for beginners.
Plymouth Rock
Aside being friendly and calm in nature, these produce around 280 eggs each year. They love foraging which makes them a great option for free-range chickens when you are not having cuddles with them!
Golden Comet
Best for cities with colder temperatures, the Golden Comet is a quiet and gentle breed, which makes it a great for a perfect pet.
You can expect between 250-300 eggs in the first year.
Facts About Chickens Laying Eggs
- There are more than 200 recognised chicken breed in the world
- The highest recorded rate of egg laying is held in the Guinness Book of Records at 371 eggs in 364 days.
- On average, the volume of eggs produced by chickens each year is between 260 and 280.
- Chickens often begin laying eggs from 6 months of age, depending on the breed.
- Hybrid hens have proven to be the least productive egg layers after the first year and have a shorter life expectancy when compared with Pure-bred hens.
What Factors Effect Egg Laying Potential
- Age is the factor with most priority in any breed of chicken. The older the chook, the lower the volume of eggs –often times, you would see a 20% decrease with each year of age.
- The chicken breed as explained above
- Exposure to daylight and quality of environment – chickens require at least 14 hours of daylight to lay eggs, this means during the winter, they will produce less eggs.
- Size of the flock – the higher the flock the higher the production.
So, now you know what chicken breed lays the most eggs, the question is what mouth-watering meal will you create with all those wonderful eggs.