What Chickens Lay the Biggest Eggs? Best Jumbo Egg Layers

So, you have finally made the choice to have a flock of backyard chickens. This may leave you wondering, what chickens lay the biggest eggs? From brown, white, to blue let’s see who is laying the biggest eggs in the coop.

What Chickens Lay the Biggest Eggs? Top 19 Breeds with a Jumbo to Large Egg Size

Jersey Giants-Jumbo
Delaware Chickens-Jumbo to Extra Large
ISA Browns- Extra Large
Buff Orpington
Welsummer
Gold Comet Chicken
Wynadottes
Australorp
Rhode Island Red
New Hampshire Red
Barnevelder
Chantecler
Barred Plymouth Rocks
Rhode Island White
Speckled Sussex
White Leghorns
Austra White
California White
Cream Legbar

a dozen large brown eggs — eggs in egg box

Excellent Layers of Large Brown Eggs

If large brown eggs is what you are after, any of these excellent layers are sure to satisfy your hunger for fresh eggs. Let’s take a look at the best egg layers to add to the backyard flock for jumbo to large eggs.

Jersey Giants

The Jersey Giant takes the cake when it comes to what chickens lay the biggest eggs. You can expect their egg size to be jumbo to extra large.

Laying around 200 eggs per year, you’ll get lots of extra large brown eggs from this extra large chicken! Large breeds, like Jersey Giants, are also used as a dual-purpose breed.

Delaware Chickens

Originating in Delware in the United States, this breed is known to have an egg size of extra large to jumbo light brown eggs. You can expect them to lay some of the largest eggs, about 4 per week or around 200 per year. Delaware chickens are also a great choice as a dual-purpose breed of chicken that will often go broody, making it a sustainable choice.

Isa Browns

The ISA Browns are a hybrid breed and an all around good choice for what chickens lay the biggest eggs. Typically, an ISA Brown hen will provide your family with three hundred to three hundred and fifty large brown eggs per year.

Not only are they known to be prolific egg layers with their high egg production, but also their early egg production. ISA Brown hens will start laying for the first time around 18-20 weeks of age. They are docile in nature and adaptable to being kept in a coop or in a free range environment.

Buff Orpington

The Buff Orpington is another docile, and also dual purpose breed, that will lay tons of large brown eggs. They are popular breed, capable of laying up to 280 eggs per year. You can expect the Buff Orpington to mature and start laying eggs around 6-8 months of age.

They are a heritage breed and are known to be broody hens. While the Buff Orpington is the most common of the Orpingtons, you can also find different varieties such as, black, blue laced, white, buff, red, buff black laced, barred, buff Columbian, and birchen.

Welsummer

The Welsummer is a dual-purpose breed, more commonly known for meat production but are also good layers of large dark brown eggs. They are a heritage breed of chicken so they are a good choice if you are looking for a sustainable dual-purpose breed that will also lay large brown eggs. They are easily handled and thrive in free-range environments.

Golden Comet Chicken

Golden Comet pullets are a gold sexlink hybrid breed of chicken. They are popular breed that is fast growing and maturing. Hybrid chicken breeds, like the Golden Comet, will usually start laying their first egg around 18-20 weeks of age.

You can expect healthy hens to lay up to 320 large eggs per year. They give maximum egg production the first year and well into the second. However, hybrid sex link breeds are known to drop production after the first two years.

They do still continue to give a high number of eggs for years to come. They are easy keepers, being well suited to a chicken coop or in a free range environment.

Wynadottes

Wyandottes are a docile, dual-purpose breed kept for their brown eggs and meat production. They are a friendly breed and a favorite backyard chicken for their dependable egg production and beautiful feathers. They are well known to lay up to 200 large brown eggs per year, making them a good choice for what chickens lay the biggest eggs.

Australorp

The Australorp breed is another heritage dual-purpose breed known for its large eggs. You can expect healthy hens to lay an average of 250-300 large brown eggs per year. Australorps are a calm, friendly breed that is well suited in a coop or a free range environment.

Rhode Island Red Chickens

The Rhode Island Red may be one of the most well known and well rounded breeds. They are hardy birds and well suited for any environment. Rhode Island Reds are also a good choice for dual-purpose birds. You can expect them to lay about 300 large brown eggs per year.

New Hampshire Red

Originating from New Hampshire in the United States, this breed of chicken is selected more for meat production, as they only lay about 120 large brown eggs per year. They are on my list as a good choice for large eggs due to their broodiness.

New Hampshire Reds are well known to be great mothers, hatching out and mothering chicks with the best of them. They are an excellent choice for sustainable dual-purpose birds that lay large brown eggs.

Barnevelder

If a large, chocolate egg is what you are after, look no further than the Barnevelder breed. They are a great choice and will consistently lay an average of 200 large chocolate brown eggs per year. Barnevelders are also a great choice for a dual-purpose breed if you can sacrifice getting those sought after large, chocolate brown eggs.

Chantecler

The Chantecler chicken is a good choice for a dual-purpose breed that lays large eggs. They are known for being very hardy and laying up to 220 light brown, or even pinkish, large eggs per year.

Barred Plymouth Rock Chicken

Barred Plymouth Rocks are a friendly breed that are good with children and great for people who are new to keeping chickens. They will lay a very respectable 250 large brown eggs a year.

Smart, docile, and calm is a great way to describe these dual-purpose birds. Not to mention their feathers, they are beautiful birds with a unique appearance, to add to your backyard flock.

Rhode Island White

The Rhode Island White is an easy going, calm breed originating from Rhode Island in the Unites States. They will lay about 280 large brown eggs per year. This makes the Rhode Island White the best breed of chicken for laying the biggest brown eggs.

Speckled Sussex Chicken

Another great choice for large brown eggs is the Speckled Sussex. On average they will lay 200-350 eggs per year. They are also known as a dual-purpose breed of chicken, making them great for meat production and egg laying.

What Chickens Lay the Biggest Eggs: Excellent Layers of Large White Eggs

When asking, what chickens lay the biggest eggs, you may be wanting to add large white eggs to your basket. Luckily, there are a few notable choices of egg layers that lay large white eggs. Let’s see who is in the coop.

White Leghorns

Adding White Leghorns to your backyard flock is sure to give you large white eggs in your basket. On average, they will lay 280 large white eggs per year.

Don’t expect to snuggle these chickens though. White Leghorns are known to be very independent and flighty birds. Some backyard chicken keepers that have White Leghorns may even say that this medium-sized bird is also a little crazy!

Austra White

The Austra White is a hybrid breed of chicken. They are a cross of Black Australorp roosters and a White Leghorns. They have a similar egg laying cabaility of White Leghorns, laying about 300 creamy white eggs per year. Since they are crossed with an Australorp, some hens may even lay the lightest brown egg.

California White

California White hybrids look almost exactly like the White Leghorns. However, the California White is a more docile breed one and one of the best white egg layers for backyard flocks. Adding a California White to the flock will give you an average of 300 white, larger eggs per year.

What Chickens Lay The Biggest Eggs: Easter Eggers

Now that you’ll have large white and brown eggs in your basket, you may be wondering what variety of breeds lay the biggest eggs for Easter Eggers. The list is pretty short here, as the egg size that most Easter Eggers give is pretty small. They come in a range of beautiful colors but do not lay the largest eggs.

Cream Legbar

Topping the list of the best chickens to lay the biggest easter eggs is the Cream Legbar. While the egg size isn’t huge, the Cream Legbar can lay approximately 280 beautiful, medium size eggs to large blue eggs per year. They are definitely worth adding to your backyard flock or small farm for some diversity in egg color.

Egg Size & Minimum Weight Per Dozen Eggs

When determining egg size, the weight is taken of a whole dozen eggs to determine the weight class. Egg size falls into one of six categories, ranging from Jumbo to Pee-Wee.

Jumbo Eggs 30 Oz.
Extra-large Eggs 27 Oz.
Large Eggs 24 Oz.
Medium Eggs 21 Oz.
Small Eggs 18 Oz.
Peewee Eggs 15 Oz.