Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Any favorite production brown egg layers? I am looking for a purebred brown egg layer for production that is cold hardy (our coops are not heated). I am currently using hybrids. How much production would I loose if I went to a purebred? I want to be able to hatch replacements myself - not to save money but rather to develop a strain that does well on our farm and under our management.

I will always vote for the Rhode Island Red!

I agree- you probably can't beat a good RIR strain.

I'm going to find out about the RIR this autumn/winter...got day olds coming june 15th...i have barred rocks that did great last winter and never even blinked ..just put out eggs steady...didn't like snow very much but aside from the roos comb tips the cold didn't seem to bother them much...i'm looking forward to see how the RIRs do...

austrlops hands down

I agree Australorp are a great bird.

All great breeds.
or
Chantecler: Canadian breed, dual purpose, frequent brooder, good mother, extremely cold hardy, early maturing. average annual egg production 200.
or
Speckled Sussex: dual purpose, good brooder & mother, robust, very cold hardy, moderately slow maturing, average annual egg production 250-300.

Jaye wrote:QR_BBPOST Ameraucana: occasional brooder, very cold hardy, moderately early maturing, average annual egg production 250-300.

Doesnt Ameraucana lay green eggs

Oops! You're right, Coonhound, they don't lay brown eggs. True Ameraucana lays blue eggs. My bad. I'll edit my post.

By switching to a standard bred breed from production layers, you will lose up to 100 eggs per bird per year. Or more :/ Egg laying ability isn't as dependant on the name of the breed as it is on the line of the breed and management practices-if the strain you buy has been selected to lay lots of eggs, then they will. If they are allowed to breed without production in mind, each generation will generally lay fewer and fewer eggs. This is why some birds will lay 250 a year, and some only 40. If you can get your hands on some of Joan's (Chitaquarott) black Orpingtons, those suckers lay like crazy! 6 eggs a week pretty much year round, from a breed that's not thought of as a good layer. But for frostbite protection you want to avoid single combed roosters. Rose, pea or cushion combed breeds are your next best bet. The trick will be finding a breeder or hatchery that keeps the egg numbers up.