Laying hens: the best breeds

Chickens are the most frequently encountered animals on the household yards in the territory of the current CIS. One of the main goals pursued by those who breed chickens is to get eggs. In this regard, special breeds of hens were bred - laying hens that lay eggs all year round.

Among all the representatives of this bird there are a number of breeds that best cope with this task.

All chickens of the egg direction, regardless of the breed, have common features. All of these animals have a good appetite, they quickly "mature", and the young of these breeds begin to lay eggs already 4 months after birth.

Breed "Leggorn"

Laying birds of this breed are most often found on household yards, as they are the most famous among all egg-laying chickens. The homeland of these animals is Italy, or rather, the city of Livorno.

A little later, this breed was improved by breeders from the United States who crossed Spanish and Italian layers, fighting chickens with white minoras. Thanks to such experiments, the Leggorn breed appeared in its current form and with modern characteristics. From the very beginning of its existence, this breed has won the trust of people around the world and to this day holds the mark.

In Leghorn's hens, the body has a wedge shape, it is fairly proportional and slightly raised. The stomach of these chickens is quite voluminous, the rib cage is round, slightly protruding, with well-developed muscles.

The back is long, as for chickens in general, rather wide, slightly concave in the middle. In general, in Leghorn, the body has the shape of a triangle, and the head is a kind of apex, which, in principle, is considered the shape of the body typical of egg hens.

The head is of medium size leggorn, on the top is a bright red comb of leaf-shaped form.In males, the scallop stands straight, while in females it hangs slightly to the side. Eyes expressive, lively. Throughout life, the color of the iris changes, that is, in young layers, the eyes are orange, and in more mature individuals the color changes to a pale yellow.

The leggorn has a small beard of a rounded shape, which is colored in a scarlet shade. Milky white ear lobes. The beak of these chickens is very strong, yellow. The neck is curved in shape, elongated.

The limbs are thin, but strong, of medium length, they change their color with age: the young have yellow legs, and in adult chickens they are white with a blue tint. The tail in the form of cocks and hens is different. In the female, it is slightly lowered, while in the male, it rises slightly.

In terms of the color of the fluff, leggorn is divided into 8 subspecies. The most common chickens with white, fawn and speckled plumage.

The nature of these chickens is alive, they move a lot, are temperamental, they are constantly in search of food, various bugs, small stones. They are characterized by good endurance, quickly get used to the conditions of life. The maternal instinct of these layers is absent.

For the year, one layer of breed "Leggorn" brings from 160 to 230 eggs,each weighing 55-58 grams. A layer eats up 1.9 kg, and roosters - 2.6 kg.

Breed "Izraun"

This breed is a cross of leggorn. It is the result of many years of work by French breeders. Able to quickly acclimate to the conditions of life. Perfectly will survive both in cages, and at the floor contents. After 21 weeks after birth, they reach 50% of their egg production.

Up to 320 eggs can be laid each year.. Juveniles are very resistant, 93-96% of chickens survive. Dies no more than 2% of the livestock. Eggs are usually brown in color, each weighing about 63 g. To get a dozen eggs, a chicken needs to be fed 1.6 - 1.7 kg of feed.

Breed "Loman-Brown"

Cross has German roots. Animals from this cross-country are covered with reddish-brown down. The gender of the bird can be distinguished at the age of 1 day: the females are brown and the males are white. In spite of their foreign origin, the Layman-Brown layer of the breed perfectly adapts to the weather conditions in Eastern Europe. These birds are easy to contact, not afraid of people.

Laying birds of this breed are designed to produce eggs, so they do not gain a lot of weight. This breed is so popular precisely because of its unpretentiousness.Lay-breed "Loman-Brown" make large eggs with a dense light brown shell. Nestlings of this breed are very viable, not less than 98% of the livestock survive, young animals mature very quickly. These chickens start to sweep very quickly compared to birds of other breeds.

Chickens are considered mature by age from 135 days, and the birds fully mature 161 days after their birth. Most eggs are given by layers at the age of 160-180 days. The main disadvantage of this breed is the loss of a high level of productivity after 80 weeks of intensive egg laying, so these chickens are sent for slaughter.

Unfortunately, the main features of this breed are not reproduced in the offspring due to the peculiarities of breeding. This breed has special preferences in feed. For example, it is very undesirable to feed whole grain feed to these hens, it is better to give corn, barley and millet. In weight, the female can gain up to 2 kg, in a rooster - up to 3 kg. Even with small portions of food, a healthy layer is able to produce up to 320 eggs per year with a very dense shell weighing 62-64 g.

Breed "High Line"

Layers of this breed are very unpretentious and have high productivity. This hybrid cross was obtained by breeders from the USA.In weight, these birds gain an average of 1.7 kg. Eggs are laid for 80 weeks, and productivity is 340-350 eggs, each of which weighs 60-65 g. At the high-line breeds, the hull is of medium size, the plumage is white.

The comb is painted in deep pink. These birds are very calm, they do not require special conditions for keeping. These layers have excellent immunity. Survives at least 96% of the population. An adult bird has relatively little feed per ten eggs - less than 1.2 kg. In weight, these layers are not gaining much, at the age of 10 weeks the chicken weighs 1.3 - 1.4 kg. 50% of their productivity of laying hens reach at the age of 144-145 days after birth. Chicken up to 60 weeks a year gives 247-250 eggs, and at the age of 80 weeks up to 350 eggs.

Breed "Russian White"

This breed is the fruit of the work of Russian breeders. For breeding a new species, scientists selected chickens with a large physique and high rates of productivity. The females of the local breeds were crossed with the males of the Leggorn breed, and the most productive were selected from the raised chickens.

In hens of the “Russian White” breed, a strong constitution, a wide body, a strong back, a rather long, protruding chest. Body knocked down with lots of muscle. On the head is a leaf-shaped comb.The limbs of yellow shades, very strong and stable. From the name it is clear that the feathers of these layers are white. The tail is of medium length. In the year one chicken can bring 200-240 eggs, each of which weighs 60-63 g. In a hen, a live weight reaches a level of 2.1 kg, and in a rooster - 3 kg.

Breed "Ukrainian Ushanka"

A characteristic feature of the hens of this breed is the presence of red lobes on the ears, and the lobes are covered with thick "sideburns". It is not known from where this breed went, since it was created by the hands of the people. The birds of this breed very quickly get used to the conditions and climate of the area. They calmly tolerate lowering temperatures and other weather changes.

In laying hens of the breed "Ukrainian earflap" the rib cage is round and very voluminous, the body is dense, shot down, the back is straight and wide. The head is large, as for laying hens, on it is a single comb. Short beak, but strong. The limbs are short, due to which the bird seems to be very squat. Roosters have a very beautiful tail, adorned with lush feathers. Most often, the feathers of birds of this breed are black, but sometimes there are also variegated layers.

For the year, a bird of this breed is able to give from 160 to 200 eggs, each weighing between 55 and 60 g. The live weight of a chicken is 2.5 kg, and a rooster - 3 kg. The eggs have a strong shell of an unusual creamy-milky hue.

Breed "Orlovskaya"

To this day, it is unknown where this breed of hens has come from. These chickens have a very beautiful exterior, which is created by a magnificent down of black, calico or fawn shades. At the bottom of the head and the top of the neck are covered with fawn-colored feathers. These feathers hang down, thus creating the appearance of the beard, and quite thick. The head is of medium size, but the occipital part is wide. The beak is short, but slightly rounded, that is, it has the shape of a hook.

Even the cocks have a small comb, flat, slightly covered with down. In chickens, it is developed rudimentally. Limbs massive and strong. Oryol hens are very unpretentious and differ in special endurance. In the year with one hen, you can get 140-150 eggs, but sometimes a little more. The weight of one egg is 60 g, they are covered with a shell of white or pale pink shade. The weight of the chicken reaches 2.5 - 3 kg, and the rooster - up to 3.5 - 4 kg.

Breed "Pavlovskaya"

Homeland layers of this breed is the village of Pavlovo in the Gorky region.To breed a new breed, Peruvian cocks and 3 domestic breeds were crossed: lochmonog chickens with smooth feathers on the head and a thick beard with whiskers, crested and bare-legged.

Layers of Pavlovsk breed received silvery or golden feathers, studded with black specks. For the year with one hen you can get 100-120 eggs, each in weight reaches 50 g. The chicken can gain 1.8 - 2 kg, and the rooster - 2.5 kg. Chickens of this breed are very popular in households.

Breed "Minorca"

The breed received its name due to the place where these birds were obtained - the island of Minorca in Spain. The breed is split into 2 subspecies - the minor can be white, as well as black with a dark green tint. White layers of this breed can be met quite rarely.

These chickens are very slim, their body is elongated due to the elongated back. The shape of the head is typical, medium in size. The comb of these birds is leaf-shaped, painted in a bright scarlet shade, stands straight. The earlobes are white. The neck is straight and elongated. Limbs long and powerful. Maternal instinct is not peculiar to minor women. Eggs can be safely placed in an incubator, most of them will be chickens.

The first eggs from the minorok layers can be obtained 150 days after the birth of the bird. The productivity of the minor for the year is 160 - 170 eggs, the weight of each is 60-65 g. The eggs have white shells. A layer of this breed can eat 2.3-2.5 kg for life, and a rooster - 3-3.5 kg.

Breed "Pushkin striped and motley"

This breed is considered experimental and was bred relatively recently by crossing white male leggorn with Australian hens in black and variegated shades. Birds of this breed are representatives of the egg direction, but their weight is slightly more typical for layers. The down of Pushkin's hens is striped-motley, in sub-downs is white.

Roosters are white with lots of dark spots all over the body. The head is slightly elongated in shape, but medium in size. The bill is very curved in shape, medium in length, and painted ivory. On the head there is a large pink-shaped comb with a pronounced thorn. Scallop goes along the back of the head, on top it is smooth, but in general - flat, covered with small papillae.

The eyes are very expressive, the iris is colored orange. The earlobes are painted in pale pink shades.The neck is rather long, powerful; feathers create a semblance of a mane. The body has the shape of a trapezoid, the sternum is wide and deep. The back is narrowed in the direction of the tail. The tail is kneaded vertically, well developed. Hocks are thick and long, white. Fingers are placed widely enough, on them white claws are located. Pooh tight. The wings are long, but slightly down. Pushkin layers behave very calmly, quickly get used to the living conditions.

Their limbs are long and powerful. The carcasses of these birds look very good. The survival rate of representatives of this breed is extremely high - not less than 95% of heads survive from young stock, and in adult birds this indicator is equal to 87%. An adult chicken weighs 1.8–2 kg, and a rooster feeds 2.4–2.6 kg. Egg production per year is 180 - 220 eggs, each of which weighs 57-60 g, they are covered with a shell of white or light cream color.

The choice of egg chicken is quite complicated, as you can buy a bird that can not survive in changeable weather conditions. Therefore, you should consider various factors when choosing a hen.