Selecting the best egg laying chicken breeds for beginners can make the experience a lot easier. Breeds like Rhode Island Red, ISA Brown, and Leghorn are great for beginners because they are simple to care for and sturdy. Plus, these chickens lay a good number of eggs, up to 300 per year, and are medium-large in size. Chicken eggs can come in different colors, including white, brown, blue, and green, depending on the breed.
Some breeds don’t easily go broody, while some do. Some are family-friendly, and others enjoy foraging. There’s a wide variety of egg-layer breeds to choose from, depending on what you want. In this guide, you will definitely find the best breeds that meet your needs, so you will be collecting fresh eggs in no time.
Keep reading to find the best egg laying chickens for beginners.
Click here if you are more interested in how to select the best chicken breed in general.
What Makes a Chicken Breed Good for Beginners?
Stress and complications are what you want to avoid when raising chickens as a beginner. A beginner-friendly chicken breed makes the whole experience a lot easier and more fun. Yes! Some chicken breeds are simple to care for and tough enough to handle cold or hot weather. They are also calm and friendly, especially when you or your family wants to pick them up or interact with them.
All factors mentioned before matter, but don’t forget about the main aim: you want your chickens to lay lots of eggs!
7 Best Egg Laying Chickens for Beginners
As a beginner, you will have to consider whether a chicken breed is great at laying a steady supply of eggs without fuss. Thankfully, we have done the research, and below are the 7 best egg-laying chickens for beginners.
| Breed | Type | Hen Weight in lbs (or kg) | Eggs/Year | Egg Weight in ounces (or grams) | Egg Shell Color | Easy to Keep | |
| 1 | ISA Brown | Hybrid | 4,5-5 (2-2,3) | 300–320 | 2,1-2,3 (60-65) | Brown | + |
| 2 | Leghorn | Purebred | 4,5 (2) | 280–320 | 1,9-2,1 (55-60) | White | +/- |
| 3 | Australorp | Purebred | 6,5 (3) | 200–250 | 2,0-2,2 (57-62) | Brown | + |
| 4 | Rhode Island Red | Purebred | 6,5 (3) | 250–300 | 2,1-2,3 (60-65) | Brown | +/- |
| 5 | Easter Egger | Hybrid | 4-5 (1,8-2,3) | 200–250 | 1,9-2,1 (55-60) | Blue, green, or pink | + |
| 6 | Plymouth Rock | Purebred | 6,6–7,5 (3,0–3,4) | 200–280 | 2,0 (57) | Brown | + |
| 7 | Orpington | Purebred | 7–8 (3,2–3,6) | 180–200 | 2,1 (60) | Brown | +/- |
1. ISA Brown
The ISA Brown is a medium-sized chicken with brown feathers that is a popular hybrid chicken breed for laying eggs. This chicken breed is not only popular among hobby chicken keepers, but also among professional layer farms with thousands of hens. Why? Because they are easy to keep, relatively cheap, and can lay up to 320 eggs (or even slightly more) per year!
Hybrid chicken breeds are crossbreds, and therefore often stronger than purebreds. They also mature faster and have a lower feed conversion ratio, meaning they need less kg’s of feed to produce 1 kg of eggs. Other similar hybrid breeds with similar traits are Hyline Brown, Lohmann Brown, and Bovans Brown. The Golden Comet also shares similarities with them. The Golden Comet is a crossbreed of a female White Rock or Rhode Island White and a male New Hampshire Red chicken.
The ISA Brown hens and similar hybrid breeds hardly take breaks from laying eggs, even during molting season. They are also very friendly and often hop on your lap for a treat or cuddle. Furthermore, their weight, which is around 5 pounds, makes them light enough for easy handling. The color of their eggs is brown, which many chicken keepers love as it gives a natural look. If you prefer white chickens and white egg shells, you can also opt for the ISA White. Last but not least, ISA Brown hens and similar hybrid breeds are also relatively cheap!
The only downside to their ability to lay so many eggs is that they don’t stay healthy as they age. After some years, their egg production often drops, and they may develop issues like reproductive problems. Therefore, if your chicken keeping is in a commercial setting, then you need to replace them after two years. But if you treat them well as a hobby chicken keeper, they can live up to 5-8 years.
2. Leghorn
The Leghorn is a white rooster with a big red comb, which is popularly used in commercial egg farms. A healthy Leghorn can lay up to 320 eggs a year. The eggs are white, and their size varies as the hen ages. One good thing about them is that they don’t like sitting on eggs. So, they don’t get broody easily. This is good, especially if you don’t have a rooster and don’t want to hatch chicks.
Leghorns were called Italians in the past. Their name changed when the chicken breed came to the US in the early 1800s. Just like Foghorn Leghorn from Looney Tunes, these chickens are usually white but can still come in many colors. Their bodies are slim and often have yellow beaks and legs. It is said that through their white earlobes, you can get a clue that they lay white eggs.
This chicken breed can be tough for beginners because of their activity. Leghorns are very active, so they can easily find their feed when roaming. But, they also get anxious more easily. They are not the quiet type and are good at flying around. While you can train them, it is worth pointing out that they are a bit less easy than ISA Brown for beginners.
3. Australorp
The Australorp is a relatively new chicken breed that can lay up to 250 eggs per year. They lay brown, medium-sized eggs. The Australorp was developed from the Orpington breed in Australia. The Australian chicken keepers tried to make hardy birds by mixing the Orpington with breeds like Leghorns and Rhode Island Reds. They aimed to get a chicken breed that could lay many eggs and still provide good meat. Therefore, they are a bit heavier (6,5 lbs) than other breeds like the ISA Brown and Leghorn (4,5 lbs).
Thankfully, the Australorps are easy to care for and not aggressive. This makes them good for beginners. Plus, they are not noisy and fit in well with other chickens. However, their friendly nature is taken advantage of by more aggressive breeds. Also, while roaming freely, they aren’t always alert to predators. Therefore, they require relatively more protection and care.
4. Rhode Island Red
The Rhode Island Red is a unique chicken breed with a deep brown-red color that can lay up to 300 eggs a year. Their eggs are light brown in color and medium to large in size. This chicken originally came to the U.S. in the mid-1800s through a sailor. The sailor came back with a Malay rooster and bred it with local hens. That resulted in the Rhode Island Red, which was originally used for both meat and eggs; a dual-purpose breed. However, since 1940, it has been mainly bred for eggs only. The breed was so valuable that Rhode Island made it its official state bird in 1954. Also, it has been used to breed many of the commercial hybrid breeds we see today.
What makes this breed good for beginners is that they are friendly and don’t need much care to thrive. They also live well with people and other chickens, and they enjoy free roaming to find bugs. However, this breed can sometimes be aggressive, especially roosters kept in small spaces.
5. Easter Egger
The Easter Egger is a popular chicken breed in America that can lay a variety of colorful eggs, such as blue, pink, and green. Each Easter Egger lays one egg color consistently. If you want a colorful basket, then you would have to get more Easter Eggers. They can lay up to 250 medium to large eggs per year. These chickens are originally from mixing breeds like the Araucana or Ameraucana with other breeds. The Araucana or Ameraucana is known to lay blue eggs, and the Easter Egger inherited this unique egg-laying ability.
What makes them good for beginners is their ability to withstand both heat and cold weather. Plus, they rarely get broody. Therefore, Easter Eggers are a good choice for steady egg production. They are also friendly and great with kids, but are commonly bullied by aggressive chicken breeds. So it’s recommended to keep them away from aggressive chickens or join them with other gentle chicken breeds.
6. Plymouth Rock
The Plymouth Rock is one of the oldest and most reliable egg-laying chicken breeds in America. These chickens can lay up to 280 large brown eggs in a year. This chicken breed dates back to World War II, where it was one of the common birds used for both eggs and meat in America. After the war, industrialization became popular and affected the way people in America farmed. This resulted in pushing away traditional breeds like the Plymouth Rock for better chicken alternatives. This made the breed vanish for a while, but it came back in 1869 when a breeder worked on getting a black-and-white look chicken.
An adult Plymouth Rock can weigh up to 7.5 pounds, and roosters can be up to 9.5 pounds. This makes them large and sturdy birds, but a bit heavy to handle.. One thing that makes them good for beginners is their calm and friendly nature. They don’t bully other birds, and enjoy following you around, especially when you have a treat. Plus, they are also low-maintenance with few health issues.
7. Orpington
The Orpington chicken is the heaviest bird in the list, weighing 7-8 pounds, and lays about 200 light brown eggs per year. So, quite a bit less than the other breeds, hence the 7th place. However, it is a calm and gentle chicken and therefore still a good choice for a chicken breed for beginners.
The origin of the Orpington chicken dates back to the 1800s in England. A man by the name William Cook, in his experiment to create a chicken for egg and meat, mixed different types of breeds, which resulted in the Orpington. The common Orpington color is Buff Orpington, which is a creamy light brown color. But, you can also find black, white, blue, and even red Orpingtons.
Nevertheless, Orpingtons are friendly animals and you will enjoy them, especially if you have a family. They enjoy being around people, love being petted, and can be handled without causing much trouble. However, their thick feathers and large size can make them overheat in hot weather. And mites or lice can easily hide in their thick feathers. Therefore, they require regular checks and delicate care. Plus, this breed is known for going broody, which is not good if you don’t want chicks.
Final Thoughts
In my opinion, hands-down the best egg laying chicken for beginners is a hybrid chicken breed used in commercial layer farms, like ISA Brown. Simply because it will supply you with the highest amount of eggs with the least fuss, is cheap to purchase, and needs a relatively low amount of feed.
However, it depends on your wishes as a beginning chicken keeper, what is the best egg-laying breed for you! All the mentioned chicken breeds lay a good number of eggs, but the eye also wants what it wants… If you prefer your chickens and eggs in a certain color or size, it affects your choice. For example, if you like white chickens and white egg shells, you might opt for the ISA White or Leghorn. The Easter Egger is the go-to option if you want a colorful egg basket. If you prefer large chickens, the Australorp or Orpington might be a good choice. Or, maybe you prefer calm and friendly hens most of all.
Choose carefully, you will definitely find the one that will give you a fun experience!
