gaza 508 Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 What breed of chickens lay the most? Cheers Gareth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
x38 179 Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 What breed of chickens lay the most? Cheers Gareth red rocks x so i have bin told... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foxdigger13 114 Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 One of the hybrids like warrens, black rocks or one of the other types of hybrids are usually the best, Atb fd. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paid 935 Posted May 25, 2011 Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 Warrens, the classic battery hens, which are rhode island red X light sussex. But thats all they are good for, eggs. No meat on them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Plank 8 Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 What breed of chickens lay the most? Cheers Gareth Commercial hybrids are capable of laying the most, but that doesn't mean they will! How much of it's laying potential a chicken fulfills depends on how it's kept. An important factor is the amount of light they have and how bright that light is. By law they should have a period of darkness so you can't just leave the lights on all the time. Typically people keeping chickens on a small scale who manipulate the light set a timer to switch artificial light on early in the morning then off again about mid-morning when their is natural light, the chickens then can roost normally as dusk falls. For hybrids about sixteen hours of light is optimal for maximum egg production. For people keeping pure breeds the lighting issue can be more complex. If they want to show they may want to manipulate the chickens into moulting when there are no shows. If they are breeding they might want to manipulate the chickens into laying earlier in the year so their chicks are well grown for the sales. Both of which would need different lighting patterns. Incandescent or 'warm' flurecent bulbs tend to work best and the shed must be bright enough for you to see clearly, and face the nest boxes away from the light. If you keep cockerels don't forget they will crow with the light! HTH 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bootsha 1,306 Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 What breed of chickens lay the most? Cheers Gareth Commercial hybrids are capable of laying the most, but that doesn't mean they will! How much of it's laying potential a chicken fulfills depends on how it's kept. An important factor is the amount of light they have and how bright that light is. By law they should have a period of darkness so you can't just leave the lights on all the time. Typically people keeping chickens on a small scale who manipulate the light set a timer to switch artificial light on early in the morning then off again about mid-morning when their is natural light, the chickens then can roost normally as dusk falls. For hybrids about sixteen hours of light is optimal for maximum egg production. For people keeping pure breeds the lighting issue can be more complex. If they want to show they may want to manipulate the chickens into moulting when there are no shows. If they are breeding they might want to manipulate the chickens into laying earlier in the year so their chicks are well grown for the sales. Both of which would need different lighting patterns. Incandescent or 'warm' flurecent bulbs tend to work best and the shed must be bright enough for you to see clearly, and face the nest boxes away from the light. If you keep cockerels don't forget they will crow with the light! HTH Now thats what you call an answer, perfectly accurate in all aspects i may add Any hybrid that has been produced to lay eggs as has already been stated, will do the job, there are way to may to mention, and there are more being devised every year. You wont go far wrong with warrens though mate, and they are so laid back (excuse the pun ) great with young kids as well B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
reddog70 236 Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 What breed of chickens lay the most? Cheers Gareth Commercial hybrids are capable of laying the most, but that doesn't mean they will! How much of it's laying potential a chicken fulfills depends on how it's kept. An important factor is the amount of light they have and how bright that light is. By law they should have a period of darkness so you can't just leave the lights on all the time. Typically people keeping chickens on a small scale who manipulate the light set a timer to switch artificial light on early in the morning then off again about mid-morning when their is natural light, the chickens then can roost normally as dusk falls. For hybrids about sixteen hours of light is optimal for maximum egg production. For people keeping pure breeds the lighting issue can be more complex. If they want to show they may want to manipulate the chickens into moulting when there are no shows. If they are breeding they might want to manipulate the chickens into laying earlier in the year so their chicks are well grown for the sales. Both of which would need different lighting patterns. Incandescent or 'warm' flurecent bulbs tend to work best and the shed must be bright enough for you to see clearly, and face the nest boxes away from the light. If you keep cockerels don't forget they will crow with the light! HTH hello plank you seem to now your stuff,i have hatched out a ex batt x with a Rhode island red bantam. this pullet is now 12wks could i expect better than average egg production ie better than the pure bred from this bird or does it not work this way she seems quite early maturing cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Plank 8 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 hello plank you seem to now your stuff,i have hatched out a ex batt x with a Rhode island red bantam. this pullet is now 12wks could i expect better than average egg production ie better than the pure bred from this bird or does it not work this way she seems quite early maturing cheers Let me start by saying that I don't have any experience of that particular cross and I'm not aware of any statistics for that cross. However I would expect a batt x Rhode Island Red bantam cross to lay more eggs than a pure bred Rhode Island Red bantam. Large pure RIRs were developed as a egg laying utility strain. They feature in the ancestry of commercial hybrids (usually along with some Leghorn). There are separate cock and hen lines that produce the parents of egg laying hybrids. If you were to rescue a cock of the same generation as the laying hens and breed them the off-spring won't be as good. These commercial hybrids are a bit like the hybrid seeds you can buy, they may be very productive but even if you saved the seed from the plants you grew their offspring won't be as productive. Having said that RIR bantams weren't produced as a utility strain, rather they were produced by enthusiasts many of whom were interested in showing. To this end large RIR were crossed with Old English Game bantams which have a relatively low laying rate and this depressed the rate in the RIR bantam. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnipper 6,412 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 I've got a bit of a mixed flock of different hybrids and the white leghorn is a little belter, it lays huge eggs for its size. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
reddog70 236 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 hello plank you seem to now your stuff,i have hatched out a ex batt x with a Rhode island red bantam. this pullet is now 12wks could i expect better than average egg production ie better than the pure bred from this bird or does it not work this way she seems quite early maturing cheers Let me start by saying that I don't have any experience of that particular cross and I'm not aware of any statistics for that cross. However I would expect a batt x Rhode Island Red bantam cross to lay more eggs than a pure bred Rhode Island Red bantam. Large pure RIRs were developed as a egg laying utility strain. They feature in the ancestry of commercial hybrids (usually along with some Leghorn). There are separate cock and hen lines that produce the parents of egg laying hybrids. If you were to rescue a cock of the same generation as the laying hens and breed them the off-spring won't be as good. These commercial hybrids are a bit like the hybrid seeds you can buy, they may be very productive but even if you saved the seed from the plants you grew their offspring won't be as productive. Having said that RIR bantams weren't produced as a utility strain, rather they were produced by enthusiasts many of whom were interested in showing. To this end large RIR were crossed with Old English Game bantams which have a relatively low laying rate and this depressed the rate in the RIR bantam. interesting that thanks for your time it sounds all clever stuff creating these hybrids. i wont be looking to further this cross but the sibling brothers i gave to someone with a ex commercial warren type flock. i think his plans are to hatch a few of his own replacements, for his own use and interest cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
reddog70 236 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 I've got a bit of a mixed flock of different hybrids and the white leghorn is a little belter, it lays huge eggs for its size. nice one nipper variety makes it a bit more interesting i like the leghorns too Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gerron 13 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 i have sussex and get an egg a day from each Quote Link to post Share on other sites
salclalin 240 Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Warrens, the classic battery hens, which are rhode island red X light sussex. But thats all they are good for, eggs. No meat on them. Sorry Paid but Warrens are not Rhode Island X Light Sussex.However RiRxLight Sussex are Excellent Layers.I have been Breeding my own Flock for the Last Couple of Years.This year myself and Red Dog are going to put A Leghorn x warren Cock to a couple of RiR X Light Sussex Pullets to see how they Lay. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
destiny 0 Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 Some excellent points here on hybrids. We bred a number of pure breeds as well as some RIRxBarred Plymouth Rocks. Personally out of our pure breeds I find the cream legbar to be pretty prolofoc layers and the gold and silver campines are fantastic little birds for regular laying throughout the year. But the RIRs and then the RIRxBPR are excellent. Our worst are probably the wyandottes followed by the loveable Buff Orps. We also find that the RIRs and the RIRxBPR are excellent hatchers but the poure BPRs are often addled or the chicks just don't have the vigour to get out of their eggs. I'm not an expert on these things mind, this is more mt Mother's area of knowledge...I'm just her lackie! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
darbo 4,774 Posted June 26, 2011 Report Share Posted June 26, 2011 apart from the hybrids. there are breeders of pure breds which have very good laying ratesie rhode island reds light sussex leghorns plymouth rocks white wyandottes etc.they are in the utility register in practical poultry. i crossed a welsummer cockeral with some warren hens last year and kept back 3 hens.they are proving to be a very good laying bird more than happy with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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