Looking to supercharge your egg production? Discover the top chicken breeds that will keep your coop brimming with fresh, delicious eggs.
Choosing the right breed can make all the difference in your egg yield. Some breeds are renowned for their prolific laying, while others offer a combination of productivity and unique characteristics.
The breeds highlighted are selected for their exceptional egg-laying abilities, drawing from my personal experience with chickens that consistently deliver. A mix of reliable layers and those with added benefits ensures you get the best of both worlds.
How to Choose the Right Chicken Breed for Eggs
If you’re not overly interested in meat birds, your main focus when choosing a chicken breed should be on their egg-laying capabilities, their suitability for your climate, and their temperament. A terribly nervous bird who doesn’t like cool weather is not well-suited to free-ranging in a zone with hard winters. Remember, don’t just be swayed by the number of eggs a chicken breed can lay – if your birds aren’t happy, healthy, and thriving in your climate, their egg production will drop or even stop completely.
I’ve put together a list of the best chicken breeds for egg-laying in a range of climates and habitats so you can find at least one breed that’ll suit your needs. I’ve tried to keep the list mostly to the best egg-laying chickens for beginners, as some of the breeds that produce a lot of eggs may have characteristics that make them unsuitable for novices. So, the birds on our list are generally well-suited to all levels of chicken keepers.
1. Golden Comet – Up to 300 Eggs Per Year
Golden Comets are a top choice for their impressive egg-laying, producing up to 300 medium-sized brown eggs annually. They’re friendly, cold-hardy, and adaptable, making them ideal for families in any climate. While they thrive as free-range foragers, they also handle being penned well. With their easygoing nature, they’re great for both eggs and companionship.
Weighing up to 7.5 pounds, Golden Comets are tough and rarely go broody, making them suitable as dual-purpose birds. They get along with other breeds and are easy to tame, even ex-battery hens rescued at 12-18 months old. Whether you’re new to chicken keeping or more experienced, Golden Comets are a fantastic, low-maintenance breed.
2. Rhode Island Red – Up to 250 Eggs Per Year
Rhode Island Reds are the quintessential dual-purpose chickens. Not only do they lay up to 250 eggs per year, but they also make excellent meat birds. They’re a popular choice for first-time chicken keepers because they’re tough, hardy birds that love to forage, making them great for catching bugs and controlling weeds. If you let them free-range or provide a large, movable pen, they’ll get plenty of opportunities to forage and stay happy.
If you grow your own vegetables, Rhode Island Reds are handy cleanup crew members after harvest—just let them into the garden, and they’ll take care of it! These medium-sized birds are confident, friendly, and easy to tame, making them wonderful pets and useful livestock. However, they can be a bit bossy, so avoiding keeping them with bantams or more submissive breeds is best.
3. Barred Plymouth Rock – Up to 250 Eggs Per Year
The Barred Plymouth Rock is a favorite for beginners, known for laying between 250 and 280 light brown eggs each year, prized for their rich flavor. These chickens have a striking gray and white striped pattern and can weigh up to 6.5 pounds. They’re also one of the friendliest breeds, with a sweet, outgoing personality, often with a bit of clownish charm. As excellent foragers, they thrive when allowed to free-range.
However, they don’t do as well when kept confined for long stretches, so they might not be the best fit if you’re planning to keep your chickens mostly cooped up. Plymouth Rocks are calm, gentle birds that get along well with smaller breeds, making them a great choice for mixed flocks.
4. White Leghorn – Up to 280 Eggs Per Year
Remember Foghorn Leghorn? If so, you’ll instantly recognize our next pick for top egg-laying chicken breeds: the White Leghorn. Originally from the port of Leghorn in Italy, these birds are prolific layers, producing up to 280 medium-sized white eggs each year. With their sleek white bodies and bright red combs, they stand out easily. Weighing around 5 pounds, they’re a hardy breed that can handle various climates. However, they’re nervous and flighty, making them difficult to tame and not ideal for those wanting calm, pet-like chickens.
Leghorns don’t love the cold and are best kept in a spacious coop and run, as their skittish nature makes them unsuitable for free-ranging full-time. They do fine in warmer months when there’s plenty to forage but they still need a secure place to return to. It’s also best to avoid mixing them with more assertive breeds, as they can easily get bullied due to their timid disposition.
5. New Hampshire Red – Up to 200 Eggs Per Year
The New Hampshire Red is a fantastic all-around chicken breed. They’re a top choice for egg production, typically laying around 200 eggs per year per bird. Not only do they provide plenty of eggs, but they’re also known for their delicious meat, and they’re reliable, broody mothers. If you’re aiming for a flock that can sustain itself with both meat and eggs, New Hampshire Reds are a solid pick.
Feisty by nature, New Hampshire Reds don’t mix well with timid or overly submissive breeds. It’s also a good idea to keep them away from bantam chickens, as they can be a bit pushy and aggressive. Despite their temperament, they shine as a hard-working, self-sustaining flock breed.
6. Buff Orpington – Up to 200 Eggs Per Year
Laying up to 200 eggs per year, the Buff Orpington is a large, friendly chicken and a top contender for egg-laying breeds. Originally from Kent, England, these birds are known for their calm, easygoing nature, making them popular pets, especially with families. Weighing up to 8 pounds, they aren’t great flyers, and their fluffy feathers can retain moisture, so providing a well-maintained coop is essential for their health. While they enjoy foraging, a sturdy shelter is crucial.
Buff Orpingtons can get broody during the summer, which may slow egg production, but their affectionate and playful personalities make them a joy to have around. I adore mine—they’re not just great layers but also fun, clownish companions. Plus, their broodiness can be an asset if you’re looking to grow a self-sustaining flock.
7. Sussex – Up to 250 Eggs Per Year
The beautiful Sussex is a striking bird known for being a prolific egg layer, producing up to 250 large eggs per year in colors ranging from brown to creamy white. As a dual-purpose chicken, it’s also valued for its tasty meat. There are eight distinct variations of the Sussex, the most notable being an all-white body with black neck and tail feathers and a brown and black body speckled with white.
Weighing up to 8 pounds, Sussex chickens are friendly and docile, making them compatible with smaller birds, including bantams. They are interested and calm, which makes them excellent pets and easy to tame. These chickens are also great foragers, helping to control garden pests without harming your yard. However, their peaceful nature makes them vulnerable to more aggressive breeds, so it’s best not to house them with feisty chickens.
8. Ancona – Up to 200 Eggs Per Year
The Ancona is an Italian breed known for its egg-laying abilities. It produces around 200 small white eggs per year. These lively and hardy chickens are well-suited for colder climates due to their winter hardiness. Weighing in at under 6 pounds, they don’t typically go broody, making them a great choice for flocks focused solely on egg production.
However, Anconas are known for their tendency to fly away, so it’s a good idea to keep their wings clipped. They can be quite nervous and are not the easiest to tame, so they might not be the best fit if you’re looking for friendly, pet-like chickens.
9. Marans – Up to 200 Eggs Per Year
Marans chickens lay up to 200 eggs per year. While they might not be the most prolific layers, their dark brown eggs are delicious, and their meat is exceptional. Known as a dual-purpose breed, Marans have a calm and gentle temperament, making them a good choice for mixing with smaller or more submissive breeds.
They’re not ideal as pets, though, as they’re not easy to tame and tend to prefer the company of other chickens over humans. However, they excel as dual-purpose birds, offering both tasty meat and reliable egg production. Additionally, Maran hens are good sitters, so they’re a great option if you’re aiming for a self-sustaining flock.
10. Ameraucana – Up to 250 Eggs Per Year
The Ameraucana is a relatively rare chicken breed, closely related to the Araucana, and often mistaken for Easter Eggers due to their blue eggs. These medium-sized birds can weigh up to 7 pounds and are hardy in winter but don’t handle extreme heat well. Friendly and curious, Ameraucanas are beloved for their engaging personalities and entertaining behavior.
They thrive free-ranging or in coops as long as they have ample outdoor access. Ameraucanas can lay up to 250 eggs yearly and might go broody, but they make excellent family chickens. They’re also quite distinctive, featuring earmuffs and a beard. However, it’s worth noting that this breed occasionally has a genetic disorder known as crossed beak, affecting about one percent of chicks.
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