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The best laying hens: breeds for the house
An egg every day is a great result for an egg-laying chicken. The best laying hens really do their job every day, laying up to 350-360 eggs a year. In order to enjoy the clutch in the nest every day, it is important to choose the right breed of poultry.
General characteristics of laying hens
A feature of all breeds of egg-laying chickens is the ability to lay large eggs, suitable for feeding and of high quality. It is such a product that a thoroughbred laying hen produces.
The best laying hens produce up to 350 eggs per year.
All breeds related to egg laying have common features:
- the body weight of the laying hen is not more than 2,5 kg;
- light bones, graceful physique;
- rapid physical development;
- good, dense plumage;
- large wings and tail;
- straight, rigid comb with 7 teeth.
The laying hen makes the first clutch 125 days after emergence from the shell. On the 140th day, she reaches full physiological development.
The best breeds of laying hens
Breeding egg-laying chickens is not such a difficult task if you accurately represent the characteristics of a particular breed. Of course, a lot depends on the conditions of detention, but you still need to start with the choice of the chicken itself. The best breeds of laying hens for the home are presented in the following list.
- Leghorns weigh no more than 2 kg, an average of 1,5 kg. About 300 eggs can be obtained from them per year. They are very hardy, quickly reaching maturity, beautiful birds with a characteristic leaf-shaped crest.
- Birds of the French breed Isa Brown are capable of laying up to 320 clutches annually. A distinctive feature is the brown color of the shell. The laying hen is also very hardy, perfectly adapts to any living conditions, the first egg weighing about 62 g lays down at the age of 135 days.
- The Russian white has a plumage corresponding to the name. Its eggs are smaller in size: they weigh about 55 g. The bird is well adapted to living in Russian conditions.
- The Hy-Line breed is distinguished by increased egg production: as soon as the bird reaches 80 weeks of age, it is capable of producing 350 large and strong eggs annually. It is unpretentious to the conditions of detention, which is one of its most valuable qualities.
- The Hisex breed gives a very large product weighing 60 g, yields up to 300 pieces a year. A significant advantage over other poultry is that these chickens easily tolerate infectious diseases, fungal infections and helminth infestation. They do not require any special conditions of detention, and therefore are very popular with farmers.
- Kuchinskaya Jubilee is a universal breed. She makes quite a lot of clutches a year, about 220 pieces. weighing up to 60 g, and begins to rush from 6 months. At the same time, the chicken of this breed is meat: its weight reaches 3 kg, and the meat surpasses broiler meat in taste and amount of protein.
Any of these breeds are good for the backyard. Laying hens give more than 200 selected eggs already in the first year of life.
Among the best layers there are foreign and domestic breeds. They have characteristics similar in egg production, give large tasty eggs, do not require special conditions of keeping.