Kinds of Laying Hens

There is nothing better than collecting fresh tasty eggs from your own chicken coop every morning. To start a chicken coop, you need to have a hut so the chickens have a dry place to lay eggs. You also need the right kinds of laying hens and need to know what kind of eggs you want. Some hen breeds lay blue and green eggs, while others lay the traditional brown and white eggs.

  1. Sex Links

    • Sex links are cross-bred hens that are a mix of different breeds. The Black Sex Links are a cross between the Rhode Island Red and the Barred Rock. The Red Sex Links are a cross between White Rock, Delaware, Silver Laced Wyandotte and Rhode Island White. These hens are typically brown or black, with a bit of red and white. Each hens lays up to 300 brown eggs a year and, once in a while, they lay white ones depending on their breed mix. The size of the eggs are typically large.

    Rhode Island Reds

    • Rhode Island Red hens are an American breed and have a reddish rusty-brown color with black tails. They weigh about 7 pounds and each lay up to 250 large brown eggs per year when they receive the proper care. Cold weather also doesn't stop these hens from laying, as they are very hardy.

    Plymouth Rocks

    • Plymouth Rock hens are sometimes called Rocks or Barred hens. These hens have black and white speckled feathers and weigh about 5 pounds. Some Plymouth Rocks are all white and called White Plymouth Rocks. The hens are hardy and lay about 250 brown eggs each throughout the year.

    Leghorns

    • Leghorn hens are brown, black and white, and weigh only 4 to 5 pounds. They each lay up to 280 white large eggs per year, but tend to stress out and become flighty when humans and other animals approach them. They also tend to lay well in the winter.

    Easter Eggers

    • Easter Egger hens are also known as Ameraucanas. Their feathers come in shades of white, red, brown and black, and they weigh up to 7 pounds. Each hen lays about four blue, green or pink colored large eggs per week. They are hardy, lay eggs in the winter and have friendly personalities, which make them great for farms with children.