[Bionic]

When I move to my smallholding chickens are the first on the list (once OH has built the coop).  I only want about half a dozen girls and would like 2 or 3 different varieties. One variety with nice brown eggs would be good.
I know you all have your own favourites but could someone recommend something to fit the bill? Not ex-battery hens please as OH is dead set against them to start out with.

many thanks
Sally

[darkbrowneggs]

Well...... guess what?  I would recommend a nice strain of English Cuckoo Marans (surprise, surprise)  But then if I didn't think they were great I wouldn't have kept them for over 25 years!   

So those should do the brown eggs for you.  And recently I have started with Cream Legbars for their blue eggs and I am very pleased with those also they are good layers even in this dark weather without extra light, plus Higgledy Harriets for speckled brown eggs and Olive Eggers for green.

They really make for a lovely mixed egg box

[tazbabe]

i  added 2 speckledy hens to my flock, bought as youngsters, and they are proving to be very nice girls, and are now laying dark brown very tasty eggs. i would certainly recommend them.

[Rosemary]

I've two Speckledys and they don't lay dark brown eggs. 

I'd LOVE some of those Cuckoo Marans - beautiful eggs. We've got a couple of White Leghorns that lay lovely white eggs pretty consistently. I've had Cream Legbars for blue eggs - lovely again - and beautiful hens too.

[deepinthewoods]

ive been really impressed with my cornish game hens, really sturdy birds!

[ellied]

I've got a Sussex, a Rhode Island, a Bluebelle and a Black Rock, plus 4 BWHT girls - love them all and would happily add more of any of them tho I'd also like to try new breeds when I get another shed sorted

[bigchicken]

Get yourself some wyandottes they come in lots of colours very pretty and can lay a good amount of eggs.

[little blue]

I have quite a variety of breeds, for nice egg colour and prolific laying you can't beat a warren!

we have marans, they stopped laying in the autumn & get very broody.... though the eggs when they come are lovely!

[Big Light]

For nice brown eggs Marans , Welsummers or Barnevelders - see what breeds you like the look of ( if you are just buying females try to get them from some one where you can see the parents eggs - as shades vary within the breeds and it would be disappointing to end up with a Tesco special.

For the rest Araucana lay a nice green egg and come in lavender or black/red. Personally i like a few light Sussex in a mixed flock as the black/white stands out. If you are not to fussed about loads of eggs then a big orpington is a bonny bird ( comes in many colours) and they are very docile and interactive and quite stately.

Better to get 2 or 3 of each breed for company

[JEP]

marrans for brown eggs light sussex for white
we've had both still got marrans they do stop laying a bit before the others
but light sussex do lay well

[Gorse-Lea]

I bought 3 LS/RIR crosses in Sept and they started laying a month ago.

Lovely brown eggs and 1 a day from them. One is a nice dark brown coloured egg too, almost like a Copper Marans.

Have a couple of LS bantys too and a Cuckoo Marans that hasn't laid since I got her but def the mother hen!

[plumseverywhere]

we sell mixed coloured boxes at the farm gate so have marans and speckeldey's for dark brown, white stars (leghorns) for pure white eggs and now some green egg layers (araucana's and cream legbars).  We've had bovans goldlines who have been fab for temperament (especially with kids) and our cockerel is a cochin who is even tempered and lovely 
we didn't get any ex-bats as hubby was worried that when we were new to chickens we'd not give them the best start but now we've had  hens for a few years I think we might adopt some soon 

[Sylvia]

Plums,I read somewhere that Harrods of London sell boxes of mixed colours for £10 for six Don't know whether that's true or not

[Bionic]

Well considering I saw that they had a christmas pudding for £59, £10 for 6 coloured eggs doesn't seem too bad.
Perhaps I could have eggs boxes printed with Harrods on them and make a fortune.
Sally

[plumseverywhere]

Plums,I read somewhere that Harrods of London sell boxes of mixed colours for £10 for six Don't know whether that's true or not

Seriously?! I need to reconsider our pricing