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Egg breeds of chickens, bred specifically to produce not meat, but eggs, have been known since ancient times. Some of them are obtained by the “popular selection method”. Such, for example, are Ushanka, bred on the territory of Ukraine and the southern regions of Our Country. Its other names are ” Ushanka”, “Ukrainian Ushanka”, “South Ushanka”. The origin of Ushanka is not known for certain.
In the XNUMXth century, the Italian Leggorn breed, which has not lost its popularity so far, also appeared by the method of folk selection.
But the most interesting, from the point of view of antiquity and folk selection, is the Egyptian Fayumi breed, bred in ancient Egypt. It is interesting even not so much because of its ancient origin, as by its very appearance in the area and the contacts of mankind several millennia ago.
The ancestor of the domestic chicken is considered to be the Banking wild chicken, which still lives wild in Southeast Asia.. In relation to Africa, even beyond India, in areas of Burma, Thailand and Vietnam.
It is unlikely that the wild chicken was seized by the desire to see the world and she went to Egypt on her own. So, it was brought there by people. The fayumi must be hiding something from us.
Fayumi chicken
A chicken of a pleasant motley color is practically not found in Our Country, although it is widespread in the countries of Western Asia and since the time of the Roman Empire has managed to become the ancestor of several egg breeds in Italy and France.
Being adapted to a hot and dry climate, Fayumi would probably be suitable for breeding in the southern regions of Our Country, although her eggs are small, like those of another result of national selection – Ushanka.
The chicken is not very heavy. The weight of an adult rooster is 2 kg, chickens are slightly more than 1,5.
Any egg chickens do not have large muscle mass, since this bird has an interesting relationship: either high egg production and low body weight, or high weight and very little egg production. And this dependence is genetic. Therefore, even the existing meat and egg chickens are just something in between the two extremes.
Another, already domestic product of folk selection: Ushanka, is also small-egg.
Ushanka chicken
Sometimes Ushanka is called meat and egg. With a rooster weighing 2,8 kg, a hen weighing 2 kg and egg production of 170 small eggs per year, the owner will probably have to decide whether this breed belongs to the egg or meat and egg direction.
The weight of an egg rarely exceeds 50 g. Ushanka, in comparison with other egg hens, is late-ripening. Earflaps begin to rush at six months, while the rest at 4,5 – 5 months.
Most likely, the purpose of the breed began to change in the minds of people to “meat and egg” after the appearance of industrial egg crosses with an egg production of 300 large eggs per year. But a cross is a cross, you cannot get the same productive offspring from it, and some crosses, in general, can only be obtained in laboratory conditions. The normal egg production of a chicken of an egg breed is 1 egg in two days. The exception is the leggorn, but this breed was originally small-egg and with normal productivity. The productivity of the leghorn was increased after the breeders worked hard on the breed.
Ushanka got its name for the characteristic sideburns that cover the earlobes. A breed sign is also a “beard” under the beak.
The main color is brown, black and, rarely, white. Since almost no one is engaged in targeted breeding of Ushanka, and when crossing with outbred livestock, Ushanka transmits its signs – “ears”, the color palette has already been somewhat expanded.
Ushanka is unpretentious and tolerates frost well, which is an important factor when breeding birds in private backyards, since the same productive crosses necessarily require high-quality feed and special conditions that it will be difficult for a private trader to create in his yard, especially in relatively cold regions.
Unfortunately, only a few enthusiasts are engaged in breeding Ushanka, and it has already been classified as endangered.
Leghorn chicken
Usually, when they talk about leghorn, they think of just such white chickens, although there are also colored variants with the same name with the same name.
Brown leghorn (aka Brown Leghorn, Italian Partridge)
golden leghorn
Partridge Leghorn
spotted leghorn
A characteristic feature of all leghorns is a large chicken comb falling to one side.
Leggorn was also bred in Italy by the method of popular selection and initially did not shine with special egg production. After directed work with the breed of breeders from different countries, several lines have been formed that allow today to create industrial crosses.
The modern leghorn lays over 200 eggs a year. Begins to rush at the age of 4,5 months. In the first year after puberty, leggorn egg production is not high and eggs weighing 55-58 g.
The weight of a leghorn rooster is about 2,5 kg, chickens from 1,5 to 2 kg.
The large-scale import of leghorns easily adapting to various conditions to the Soviet Union was carried out in the second half of the XNUMXth century during the transfer of Soviet poultry farming to an industrial basis.
Today, the leghorn is the basis for the creation of industrial egg crosses with an egg production of 300 eggs per year. Due to the fact that this breed was exported to many countries, for all its purebredness, the lines of the Leggorn have already diverged far enough to make it possible to create purebred industrial crosses of two or more lines. Due to the effect of heterosis, the productivity of even purebred leghorns increases from 200 to 300 eggs per year.
The life span of industrial leghorn laying hens is 1 year. After a year, the productivity of industrial poultry decreases and it is slaughtered.
On the basis of the Leggorn, the breed was bred.
white
Bred by crossing Leghorn roosters from different lines with local outbred hens.
Laying hens inherited from the leggorn a breed trait in the form of a hanging comb. Unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention can be written as pluses for the breed, small eggs and the lack of incubation instinct, also inherited from leghorns, can be written down as minuses.
Eggs of the White weigh 55 g. In the first year, hens lay about 215 eggs. In selected lines, egg production in the first year can reach 244 eggs, then egg production decreases by an average of 15% per year, although individual eggs increase in size up to 60 g. For this reason, after the first year of life, laying hens are slaughtered.
white chickens are selected for resistance to cold, leukemia, carcinomas and are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry that manufactures medicines.
This breed of chickens is bred in non-specialized and personal farms.
For lovers of chicken breeders, the Andalusian blue chicken bred in Spain will look very original in the yard.
Andalusian blue
Unusual coloring attracts attention, but the Andalusian blue is quite rare and breeders are trying to get at least a few hens of this breed. It doesn’t work out for everyone.
The breed, although it belongs to the egg breed, is not industrial. Young hens start laying eggs from 5 months old, giving eggs weighing 60 g. The egg production of this breed is 180 eggs per year. Chickens can also provide meat. Chicken weight 2 – 2,5 kg, rooster – 2,5 – 3 kg.
Theoretically, Andalusian blues can incubate eggs, but their brooding instinct is poorly developed. For offspring, it is better to use an incubator or a chicken of a different breed.
When crossing two blue chickens, the color of the offspring is split into 50% blue, 25% black, 25% white. And, according to all the laws of genetics, there should be 12,5% of eggs containing the lethal blue color gene in a homozygous state, from which none will hatch.
Black and white chickens cannot be exhibited as thoroughbreds, but there is no point in culling them from breeding. When crossed with blue, the gene for blue color is added to the genome of chickens of these colors and the offspring is blue.
Araucan chickens, whose homeland is South America, are gaining more and more popularity in Our Country.
Araukana
Breed feature Araucan is the absence of a tail and eggs with a greenish-blue shell.
The weight of the Araucan rooster is 2 kg, and the chicken is 1,8 kg. In a year, these chickens carry 160 eggs weighing 57 g. Araucan has no incubation instinct.
Interestingly, if you cross an Araucan with chickens that lay brown eggs, the offspring will lay an olive-green egg, and when you cross with white-egg chickens, you can get bluish eggs.
mini egg breeds
As a result of the mutation, mini-egg chickens of breeds arose: dwarf Rhode Island or P-11 and dwarf leghorn or B-33.
These are not crosses, but breeds with a dwarfism gene. Moreover, their body weight is the same as that of large chickens. They seem small only due to short legs. Dwarfs do not need much space, and they carry the same eggs as tall chickens. The weight of eggs from dwarf chickens is 60 g. Egg production is 180 – 230 eggs per year.
The birthplace of these dwarfs is Our Country. But today these breeds are victoriously marching around the world.
Rhode Island pygmy
Leghorn pygmy
Conclusion
In addition to these, there are, of course, a lot of other egg breeds. Laying hens can be chosen for every taste, not only by egg weight, egg production, color and size, but even by egg color. There are chickens that lay eggs in chocolate, black, blue, green colors. You can also do amateur breeding, trying to cross breeds with different eggshell colors to get your original egg.