Chicken is a bird that is grown and fed for its eggs and meat. There are many breeds of chickens in India and some of them are super popular for egg-laying.
Chickens lay around 90 to 250 eggs in a year. Let us take a look at the egg laying chicken breeds.
Best Egg Laying Chickens Chart
| Egg Laying Chicken Breeds | Eggs/Year |
|---|---|
| Upkari | 160 to 180 |
| Plymouth Rock | 250 |
| Optigton | 200 |
| Jharsim | 170 |
| Pratapdhan | 150 to 160 |
| Bantam Chicken | 150 to 160 |
| Kamrup | 120 to 130 |
| Cari Shayama | 100 to 110 |
| Cari Nirbhek | 90 to 100 |
| Hitcari | 90 to 100 |
Upkari
These are native Indian chickens with CARI red. These are rooster hens and have an average weight between 1.2 kgs and 1. 6 kgs. They lay anywhere between 160 and 180 eggs annually.
A few sub-breeds of Upkari chicken are CARI Priya layer, CARI Sonali layer, Cari Devendra. These breeds have different egg laying capabilities like the CARI Sonali layer can lay a maximum of 220 eggs in a year while CARI Priyal layer has an annual egg production of 298.
Plymouth Rock
This is another famous chicken breed grown in India as farm breeds. It is originally an American chicken breed.
They love to roam around, they are are calm and come in different colours like black frizzle, blue, Partridge and Columbian.
They can lay approximately 250 eggs in a year.
Orpington
These are one of the most beautiful chicken breeds in India. They are fluffy and super friendly. Originally, it is a British chicken breed and was bred in the late nineteenth century in England.
They come in various colours like lavender, white, black, and blue. They can lay around 200 eggs in a year.
Jharsim
This is a dual purpose location specific poultry that is suitable for the Jharkhand state. This breed is developed under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Poultry Breeding at Birsa Agricultural University in Ranchi.
The name of this breed is derived from the place – Jharkhand and sim means hen in the tribal language. They have an attractive multi-colour plumage and can even stay healthy on low level of nutrition.
They weigh between 400 and 500 gms at 6 weeks and 1800 gms at maturity. They can lay a maximum of 170 eggs a year.
Pratapdhan
This breed was developed as a part of the AICRP on Poultry Breeding by MPUAT. This chicken breed has an attractive multi-color feather pattern. Due to their colour plumage, these birds have camouflage characters to shield them from being a prey.
They lay brown eggs, each weighing 50 grams and having a broody characteristic. They can produce between 150 and 160 eggs annually, which is almost 275% higher when compared to the local native that produces 43 eggs annually.
Bantam Chicken
This is a very cute and lovely chicken breed. You should domesticate them if you want some fresh eggs.
They call a sturdy coop their home and you should ensure that they have sufficient moving space for their dust bath, prod and peck. Since they are small in size, their nutrition requirements are less compared to other chicken breeds.
They can produce between 150 and 160 eggs annually.
Kamrupa
This is a multi-coloured bird for poultry production that is developed under All India Coordinated Research Project on Poultry Breeding at the Assam Agriculture University.
This breed is three way cross developed with the coloured broiler 25%, Assam local ecotype 25% and Dalhem Red 50% population.
This breed has coloured plumage, long shanks with sufficient egg production and medium weight. The male Kamrupa chicken weighs between 1800 and 2200 grams at 40 weeks with an annual egg production of a maximum of 140 eggs.
Cari Shayama
This chicken breed is locally known as Kalamasi, which means fowl having black flesh. It is often reared by the adivasis, tribals and rural poor. It is one of the sacred breeds that is offered as a sacrifice to Goddess after Diwali.
The flesh of this chicken breed is a delicacy for many and also considered of medicinal value. They use the blood as a treatment of chronic disease. The annual egg production of this breed is 105.
The eggs and meat of this breed is known to be super source of protein (25.47%) and iron.
Cari Nirbhek
This is a cross of CARI Red with Indian native breed Aseel. This chicken breed is super active, large in size when compared to other breeds, pugnacious, high stamina and great gait.
They can protect themselves from predators and can adapt to all climatic conditions. They can annually lay 100 eggs.
Hitcari
This breed is also called Naked Neck Cross which has a larger build and a long neck. As the name states, the bird’s neck is naked. The neck skin becomes reddish, especially in males when they approach sexual age.
The homeland of this Hitcari chicken breed is Kerala. the annual egg production of this breed is 100.