A lot of people may think that chickens only lay white eggs… Not true! They can lay eggs of all kinds of different colors. The egg color depends on the type of chicken, and there are so many to choose from. There are different breeds of chicken that lay a variety of colors including blue eggs and green eggs. One popular breed of chicken that lays blue eggs is the Ameraucana. Green eggs are laid by hybrid chickens (chickens that are mixed between two breeds) called easter eggers or olive eggers. In this post I will tell you about the 25 best chicken breeds that lay brown eggs. There are two categories of chickens: those that are used only for eggs (which are called layers) and those that are used for eggs and meat (which are called dual-purpose). Let me tell you about the different varieties so you can start your own backyard flock! I will start with the layers.

The Brown Egg Layers

Buff Brahma Bantams – These guys are under 3 pounds and lay a small egg size. They can lay around 150 eggs every year.

Cochin Bantams – These small layers are feather legged and they look like they are wearing pants. They can lay from 150-180 eggs a year.

Dominique – Dominique chickens date back to early days in New England. They can lay between 230-270 eggs per year.

ISA Brown – These are friendly chickens from France that were bred for their high egg production. They can lay 300-350 large brown eggs per year!

Langshans -These originated in China, are gentle and they come in both black and white. They can lay 200-230 eggs a year.

Naked Neck Aka Turken – Turkens are chickens that look like a turkey! It’s funny to look at and it’s known for its good temperament. They can lay 220-280 eggs per year. This chicken is one of my favorites!

Rhode Island Red – The Rhode Island Red chicken is the official state bird of Rhode Island. It is the only breed of chicken recognized as a state bird in the United States! They will start to lay from 18-20 weeks and can lay 200-300 eggs each year.

The Dual-Purpose Breeds

Bielefelder – These birds originated in Germany, they are pretty big and the males can reach 12 pounds. The hens can lay 230-280 eggs per year.

Brahmas – There are three types of Brahmas: Buff, Dark, and Light Brahmas. They are originally from China and they’re cold hardy. They lay 130-150 eggs per year

Barnevelder – Barnevelder chickens are a dutch breed. Their egg shell color is dark brown. They lay about 170-200 eggs per year.

Cinnamon Hybrid Layer – You can’t reproduce these chickens as they are a cross breed but they lay a good amount of eggs, 250-300 eggs per year. 

Cochins – These include the Black, Partridge, White, Buff, Blue, and Silver Cochins. These are big, gentle and quiet birds but they can be broody. These are good birds if you want to hatch eggs naturally. They produce about 150-180 per year.

Cornish – The White laced Red, and Dark Cornish, are the foundation breed for the Cornish Cross. They originated in England and they are good for meat production. They can lay 160-180 eggs per year.

Delaware – They came from Delaware and they are a cross breed of New Hampshire hens and Plymouth Barred Rock roosters. They are cold hardy birds and offer nice meat and eggs. They lay around 200 eggs per year. 

Jersey Giants – The White Jersey and Black Jersey Giants can get up to 13 pounds, and are good eggs and meat producers. They produce extra large eggs in the 150-200 per year range.

Marans – One of my favorites, this includes Cuckoo, French Black Copper, Majestic, and French White Marans. These birds came from Marans, France, lay chocolate colored dark brown eggs, and have high quality meat. They are a Heritage breed and can thrive in cold weather. These hens lay excellent quality eggs and about 150-200 per year.

New Hampshire Reds – They were developed in New Hampshire from Rhode Island Reds. The hens are good egg layers and are good meat producers. They lay about 220 eggs per year.

Niederrheiner – These birds came from Germany and have a nice, friendly nature. The Niederrheiner are excellent meat producers and lay about 200 eggs per year. 

Orpingtons – White, Lavender, and Buff Orpington chickens were developed in England in the late 1800 and are good meat and egg producers. These give you a good quantity of eggs for a dual-purpose breed, about 200-280 per year.

Plymouth Rocks – The most well known are Buff and Barred Plymouth Rocks. They also include Partridge, Silver Penciled, and White Plymouth Rocks which is also known as White Rock Hen. These birds are a Heritage breed and are good meat producers and egg layers, about 200 per year.

Rhode Island White – These birds are good producers for being dual purpose, and  can lay about 240-250 light brown eggs per year.

Sex Link – Includes Black Star, Amber Star, and Red Star chickens. These dual-purpose hybrid breeds can lay 300 or more eggs in one year! These chickens are easy to raise and are cold hardy.

Speckled Sussex – This Sussex chicken was a breed developed in England. They have dark brown feathers and have white speckles all over the feathers. These are calm, friendly, and good egg layers and meat producers. They produce about 240 eggs per year.

Wyandottes – These are a popular dual-purpose bird that includes Silver Laced, Blue Laced Red, Columbian, White, and Golden Laced Wyandottes. These chickens are Heritage breeds, cold hardy, and are good meat and excellent egg producers at over 300 eggs per year!

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you like some of these chickens.

The Daily Marcus

If you want to learn about raising chicks, please check out my recent post “How To Raise Chicks For Beginners”

Want to build an inexpensive brooder fast? Check out How To Build A DIY Poultry Brooder Box For Chicks!