First of all, you need to decide if you're only interested in egg production or do you want a dual-purpose breed?. Strictly for egg production, you want the Mediterranean breeds, usually Leghorns or a hybrid variety. They ate smaller and eat less, but they are not docile, lay white eggs and are near useless for meat once they stop laying.
For dual-purpose brown egg layers, as already mentioned, it's hard to beat NH and RI Reds or Barred Rocks. My dad always ordered 25 straight run NH reds, (Slightly more docile than RI Reds) or, perfect for first-time owners, the super docile Golden Comet. We'd wind up with 10-14 laying hens and the Roosters would wind up either in the oven or in a pot. My own recommendation would be for suburban beginners to stick with the docility of the Golden Comets or either of the Reds or the Rocks. Temperament is important....I once ordered a trio of an absolutely beautiful semi-exotic Mediterranean breed called Lakenvelders to go with our flock of Reds. They were wild and could fly over the moon...beautiful but not ideal for backyard raising.
First of all, you need to decide if you're only interested in egg production or do you want a dual-purpose breed?. Strictly for egg production, you want the Mediterranean breeds, usually Leghorns or a hybrid variety. They ate smaller and eat less, but they are not docile, lay white eggs and are near useless for meat once they stop laying.
For dual-purpose brown egg layers, as already mentioned, it's hard to beat NH and RI Reds or Barred Rocks. My dad always ordered 25 straight run NH reds, (Slightly more docile than RI Reds) or, perfect for first-time owners, the super docile Golden Comet. We'd wind up with 10-14 laying hens and the Roosters would wind up either in the oven or in a pot. My own recommendation would be for suburban beginners to stick with the docility of the Golden Comets or either of the Reds or the Rocks. Temperament is important....I once ordered a trio of an absolutely beautiful semi-exotic Mediterranean breed called Lakenvelders to go with our flock of Reds. They were wild and could fly over the moon...beautiful but not ideal for backyard raising.