Eggs

Eggs can come from more than chickens. And different breeds of chickens can give you slightly different eggs. Each bird has an egg that taste different and has different nutritional facts. 

Egg Production by Poultry

• Chickens lay every day, or almost every day, with a 1-2 month break over the winter. The eggs vary in size and shell color depending on the breed. 
• For white eggs that you are use to in the grocery store, raise leghorns.These are hens that are easily spooked and killed. Everyone I know with hens loses their leghorns first.
  
• Red stars/ red sex links (a breed created from breeding New Hampshire and Rhode Island Reds) lay brown eggs. These hens are great layers with great personalities. They can be affectionate and prefer to follow people around. As a bonus, this breed is easy to determine the sex of the chick at a young age. 
• For a variety of color, raise Easter Eggers or Ameraucanas. These hens lay blue, green, and aqua eggs. Some lay pink eggs, but the color is closer to a brown rather than pink. This breed can be a little standoffish, but don't usually cause problems.
• Chicken hens are vocal when they lay eggs. The same sound is also an alarm informing you and the flock of a predator.  If a hen is not in a place to lay an egg and is squawking,  there is most likely a predator.
  

• Ducks lay 150 eggs a year. They can sometimes lay every day, but only some breeds. The eggs are larger than chicken eggs and can also vary in shell color. 
• Duck egg flavor is strong. It is suggested not to eat these as an egg dish, but instead, use them as an ingredient in baking. 
• Ducks are loud, so make sure they will not upset neighbors if you want to raise this fowl. They need water to eat and some water to swim in. But they also need a more protective environment than chickens. While chickens can fly again from a predator, most egg laying duck breeds are too heavy to fly.
   
• Turkeys lay two eggs a week. The eggs are about the size of duck eggs and taste a little more meaty. 
• These birds are a little intimidating. They are typically raised for meat and not eggs. But this would be a good fowl to breed to a continuous supply of meat.
   
• Quail lay one tiny egg per day. Their eggs sell for a lot, because they are a delicacy. 
• While I have not owned quail, many people nearby have enjoyed raising them. Unfortunately, this fowl doesn't seem to survive long. 
  

• Guineas are known to lay around 100 eggs a year. 
• But the main reason to own a guinea is for pest control. Like quail, this fowl eats ticks , effectively controlling the population around your house. 
  

• Geese lay 2-10 eggs each year. 
• Geese are also known to be aggressive. While this can be dangerous for the hobby farmer and kids, the geese can also be used as guards for smaller fowl or for the farm. They also make great alarm systems. This makes up for their low egg production.
   

Eggs are high in protein, the larger the egg the more protein. They are rumored to increase cholesterol with some conflicting reports through the years. However this study indicates that eggs do not increase cholesterol or have drastic health effects. Eggs remain an affordable source of protein with little guilt.