Australorp. When our customers talk to us about their chickens, the Australorp is hands-down the most popular breed they mention. It's easy to see why! This breed is a standout, not only because of its excellent egg-laying abilities but also for its calm and friendly nature, making it perfect for families.
For maximum eggs in Australia, the Isa Brown is top for sheer numbers (300+), while the Australorp is a hardy, popular Aussie choice, known for high yield and calm nature, great for beginners and families. Other top contenders include Rhode Island Reds (250-300 brown eggs/year) and Leghorns (high volume, but less cuddly). If you want colourful eggs, try Araucanas or Barnevelders.
Whether you're a new chicken keeper or have had chickens for years, Pearl-White Leghorns, Red Stars, Black Stars, and Rhode Island Reds are the best chickens for eggs!
Chickens that can lay around 300 to 350 eggs a year are typically high-producing hybrid breeds like the ISA Brown, Golden Comet, Lohmann Brown, and Black Star, though pure breeds like the Australorp, Rhode Island Red, and White Leghorn also approach or exceed 300 eggs annually, especially under optimal commercial conditions.
There's no single "best" chicken brand; it depends on your priorities (taste, ethics, price), but highly-rated options known for quality include Enviroganic, praised for a rich, gamey taste, and La Ionica, known for its air-chilling process, superior flavour, and ethical farms. Hazeldenes also receives accolades for quality, innovation (like Aeroscalding), and welfare-focused farming, while Inglewood Organic offers certified organic options. Brands like Ingham's, Steggles, and major supermarket labels (Macro, Coles/Woolworths Fresh) are widely available, with RSPCA Approved labels indicating better welfare standards.
The biggest chicken producers in Australia are the two major integrated companies, Baiada Poultry (owners of Steggles, Lilydale) and Ingham's Enterprises, who together supply about 70% of the nation's meat chickens. While Ingham's is often cited as the largest single entity, Baiada is a very close second, with both companies dominating the market alongside a few other key players like Bartter Enterprises.
If you're a backyard chicken family looking to maximize your egg production with larger eggs, consider adding breeds like the Australorp, Sussex, or Rhode Island Red to your flock. These hens are known for consistently laying large, delicious eggs that make breakfast a delight and baking a breeze.
When do chicken start laying eggs - by breed
The most common causes of death in chickens vary but often include heart failure/sudden death syndrome, tumors (especially from Marek's disease), bacterial infections (like colibacillosis), and parasites, with predators also being a significant factor, especially in backyard flocks; causes can range from diet and genetics to environmental issues and specific poultry diseases like Ascites in broilers or fatty liver syndrome in layers.
An average hen lays 6 eggs a week (in summer.) You need 5-6 chickens to get two dozen eggs a week during the long days of summer. You need 8-10 chickens to get the same during the short days of winter - and you need to provide them with at least 12 hours of light to keep them laying.
Brahma chickens are often dubbed the "King of Chickens" for their colossal size. They tower above most other chicken breeds, with mature Brahma roosters reaching a weight of 12 to 18 pounds and hens averaging between 9 to 12 pounds.
It's not recommended to keep just one chicken, as they are social animals and can get lonely. A minimum of 2-3 chickens is best to ensure a happy, healthy flock with a stable pecking order. How many chickens should I get as a beginner? Beginners should start with 2-4 chickens.
The Australorp chicken is famous for the record of laying 364 eggs in 365 days, a feat achieved by a single hen, though they typically average around 250-300 large, light brown eggs a year, making them exceptional layers known for their dual-purpose qualities (meat and eggs) and gentle temperament.
Isa Brown
They are the most common breed of chickens used in battery egg production in Australia. Because of this fact, these loveable girls are often available for adoption from rescue organisations. At their new homes they do not require much to be happy and content.
Here's a fun chicken fact, chickens have an average internal temperature of 105 degrees. Combine that with a thick coat of beautiful feathers it allows chickens to handle cold temperatures really well. However, chickens can struggle when temps reach over 90 degrees and stay there for extended periods of time.
If you're looking to maximize your egg production, here are some of the best egg-laying chicken breeds to consider:
Plants that are part of the nightshade family - Members of the nightshade family include potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplant. The latin name for these plants is Solanaceae. This is because they contain a compound called solanine. This is toxic to chickens.
Most chicken losses occur at night when raccoons, skunks, opossums, owls, mink, and weasels are most likely to prowl. The best defense against night shift chicken predators is a sturdy tight coop. Chickens come inside at dusk and are almost comatose when sleeping.
Since the modern chicken industry was born in Germany in 1950, after decades of development, 45 days chicken (meaning that broilers can be slaughtered when they rise to about 45 days) is normal in the world.
LEGHORN CHICKEN
Leghorns tend to be nervous, flighty chickens, making them harder to tame. However, their ability to lay up to 300 white, medium-sized eggs per year more than makes up for their timid temperament.
The 90/10 rule for feeding chickens means 90% of their diet should be a balanced, commercial feed (pellets or crumble) designed for their life stage, providing essential vitamins, minerals, and protein, while the remaining 10% can come from treats, scraps, garden forage, or scratch grains, ensuring treats don't dilute the crucial nutrients from their main diet for proper growth and egg production. This practice prevents overfeeding nutritionally weak extras and keeps hens healthy.
There is no exact date that you can expect your hens to stop laying eggs. But as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, egg production will begin to slow down. You can expect this reduction to happen in the middle to late fall, especially after daylight savings ends.
So the results were clear: For the best tasting eggs, go for pastured chickens. Barring those, choose whichever eggs have the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Where flavor is concerned, it doesn't matter if the eggs are organic, cage free, or from a cage battery.
Chicken Breeds That Lay Extra Large Eggs
Extra-large egg layers are developed specifically for egg production. They lay eggs that are larger than average, often weighing 2.5 ounces or more. Bielefelders are the perfect example.
Calcium Egg-laying takes a lot of calcium from a hen's body. Be sure to provide them enough calcium in their diet to keep a steady flow of eggs. Besides a high-quality feed, you might consider mixing crushed oyster shells in a cup of of feed.