Best Chicken Breeds

Reader Contribution by Staff
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I want to start a modest business selling free-range eggs and am looking at different breeds. What do you think of Leghorns?

I like Leghorns, although I like the chunkier Leghorn crosses — Austra Whites and California Whites — better than straight Leghorns because I have the (possibly mistaken) impression that they’re more robust. I’d say Leghorns lay well, although they’re not the only breed that does.

Where people often go wrong is by assuming that heritage breeds are decent layers by modern standards. They aren’t — not even close. Most heritage breeds are doing great if they give you 150 eggs per year. Modern hybrids can lay twice as well.

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