15 Chicken Breeds That Lay White Eggs
Looking to add white eggs to your backyard egg basket? This list details both common and rare chicken breeds that can do just that!
Blue eggs, green eggs, brown eggs. We’ve all seen the beautiful egg basket full of different colors. But what about chickens that lay white eggs?
This post will go over the different breeds of chicken that lay those seemingly less desired white eggs.
You’ll notice that some of these chickens are a popular breed, while others are rare. I’ll also include links to US hatcheries where each of these breeds can be purchased from.
*A note on egg production estimates – all numbers listed for egg productions are estimates. Since each chicken is different and egg production depends on proper feeding, you may find yourself outside of the “normal” range.*
Chickens that Lay White Eggs
- Austra Whites
- Hamburgs
- Leghorns
- Anconas
- Polish Chickens
- California Whites
- Andalusians
- Egyptian Fayoumis
- Lakenvelders
- Minorcas
- Buttercups
- Crevecoeurs
- Phoenix
- Golden Campines
- Houdans
(Affiliate Disclosure : This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, this means that I earn a small commission if you purchase through my link. This is at no extra cost to you.)
Check out this post about all the different ways you can store you chicken eggs!
White Eggs vs. Color Eggs
Did you know that even the colorful eggs from easter eggers start out white? That’s right, all eggs start out with white shells made mostly of calcium carbonate. Some eggs stay white, while others will be laid in various shades, and this is how.
Once the eggs reach the oviduct, pigments are deposited on the egg, which effects the color of egg your hen will lay. Depending on the pigment of the particular chicken breed you are raising, you can end up with a variety of colored eggs!
There can sometimes be the misconception that colored eggs are more or less nutritious than white eggs. But since the egg color is based solely on pigmentation, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Here’s an interesting read from MSU – Why are chicken eggs different colors? – MSU Extension
Hybrid vs. Heritage Breed
A hybrid chicken is developed by crossbreeding multiple different breeds of chickens. A heritage breed is a chicken hatched from a heritage egg sired by an American Poultry Association Standard breed prior to the mid 20th century.
This list contains mainly heritage breeds, but there are a couple of hybrids listed. If you plan to hatch your own eggs, this is something you will need to consider. Breeding two hybrids together will not produce offspring that are the same as the parents. You will instead end up with a different type of hybrid chicken. If there is a desirable trait in the hybrid parent, you are not guaranteed to have that trait in the offspring.
Certain types of hybrids should not be bred together due to health complications. This is common in your rapid growing hybrids, such as Cornish Cross Meat Chickens (not listed in this article).
Ultimately, the choice to select hybrid vs heritage breeds depends on what your goals are for your chickens.
What chicken lays the most white eggs?
You will find that the Leghorn and Ancona breeds lay the highest number of white eggs.
Now on to the details!
1.Austra White Chicken – Hybrid
First up is the Austra White Chicken. This is a hybrid, first developed in the 1900’s, by cross breeding Black Australorp roosters to White Leghorn hens. This bird will have white feathers, with the hens usually weighing around 5 lbs. They are generally calm and nice hens, which makes them a good choice for backyard chicken keepers. The eggs are an off-white to cream. They are good foragers and hardy in all climates.
Purpose: Dual-Purpose Bird
Egg Production: 220-280 eggs per year
Egg Size: Large
Hen Size : 5 lbs
Broodiness : Listed as non-sitters by several hatcheries, but many backyard owners of the breed report different.
Where to buy: Austra White Day Old Chicks (meyerhatchery.com)
2. Hamburg Chickens – Heritage Breed
The Silver Spangled Hamburg is a beautiful, smaller-size bird. The hens weigh in around 4 lbs, and lay 3-5 creamy white eggs per week.. They are very active and excellent foragers, making them a great choice for a free-range breed. They are heat tolerant, but do not do well in very cold climates.
Purpose: Egg layer / Ornamental
Now, on to the list!
Approximate Egg Production: 200+ per year
Egg Size: Medium
Hen Size: 4 lbs
Broodiness: not very likely
Where to buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Silver Spangled Hamburg
3. Leghorn Chickens – Heritage Breed
The Leghorn is a popular chicken breed amongst those looking for white chicken eggs. The Leghorn breed comes in many different varieties, such as White, Brown, Silver and Red. The White Leghorns are the most popular variety. They are excellent layers of large white eggs and are often used in production due to their consistency of uniform egg shape and size. In fact, a lot of your grocery stores have eggs that are produced by Leghorns. They are tolerant of both hot and cold weather
Purpose: Egg Layer
Approximate Egg Production: 220-300 per year
Egg Size: Large
Hen Size: 4 – 4 1/2 pounds
Broodiness : not very likely
Where to buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Pearl White Leghorn
(Considering hatching your own eggs? Check out my favorite incubator here. It is great for small space and very affordable!)
4. Ancona Chicken – Heritage
The Ancona Chicken is one of the Mediterranean breeds that was introduced to the United States in the late 1800’s. They are beautiful birds, with black feathers mottled with white tips, that lay large white eggs. Another active breed, they are okay at free ranging, and have an excellent heat tolerance.
Purpose: Some use as dual-purpose, but more efficient as egg-layers
Approximate Egg Production: 150-220 per year
Egg Size: Large
Hen Size: 4 1/2 pounds
Broodiness : not very likely
Where to buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Anconas
5. Polish Chickens – Heritage
The Polish Chicken breed is a rare breed of chicken that comes in many varieties, such as White, Buff Laced, and Golden. They are friendly birds, but due to their distinctive crests, their vision can be limited. This limited vision can cause them to be easily startled, and makes them a less than ideal choice for free ranging. They do however make a nice addition to your backyard flock. There are several varieties including White Crested Black, Silver, and Buff Laced. If you’re looking for a high egg production chicken, this breed may not be the best choice, as you will typically only get about 3 eggs per week. However, when they do lay, you’ll get a nice medium sized white egg.
Purpose: Egg Layer
Approximate Egg Production: 200 per year
Egg Size: Medium
Hen Size: 4 1/2 pounds
Broodiness: not likely at all
Where to buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Buff Laced Polish
6. California White Chicken – Hybrid
The California White Chicken is a cross between a White Leghorn hen and California Grey Chicken Rooster. Appearance wise, they have white feathers with small black spots on some feathers, and a large comb. They are prolific egg layers, laying 300+ eggs per year and are a hardy breed. The hens weigh in around 5 1/2 pounds, making them a large bird in comparison to the previously listed breeds, but a medium bird overall.
Purpose: Egg Layer
Approximate Egg Production: 300+ per year
Egg Size: Large to Extra Large
Hen Size: 5 1/2 pounds
Broodiness: not very likely
Where to buy: California White Chicken For Sale | Cackle Hatchery®
7. Andalusian Chicken – Heritage
The Blue Andalusian chicken is another beautiful breed that originated from Spain. This breed arrived in the US in the mid 1800’s. They do very well in free range environments and are good layers, providing 4-6 white eggs weekly. You’ll find that this breed does better in warmer climates. There are also some interesting details on the color blue in this breed. The chicks that hatch from blue parents can actually end up being blue, black, or splash! They are also a slightly larger bird, with hens weighing in at 5 1/12 pounds.
Purpose: Egg Layer
Approximate Egg Production: 200-280 per year
Egg Size: Medium to Large
Hen Size: 5 1/2 pounds
Broodiness : not very likely
Where to buy: Blue (BBS) Andalusian Day Old Chicks (meyerhatchery.com)
8. Egyptian Fayoumis – Heritage
While this breed is somewhat uncommon in the United States. They are a very old bird and have been around in Egypt since Pharaohs ruled the land. These are small birds, with hens weighing in at only 3 1/2 pounds. Instead of a bright white, you’ll get more of a creamy white egg from this breed. They are earlier layers though and start to lay their small eggs around 4 months old. Fayoumis do very well in hot climates and tend to be active foragers. This breed is also more likely to go broody than some of the previous breeds listed.
Purpose : Egg Layer
Approximate Egg Production : 150 – 200 annually
Egg Size: Small
Hen Size : 3 1/2 pounds
Broodiness: occasionally
Where to buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Egyptian Fayoumis
9. Lakenvelder Chicken – Heritage
This breed dates back 1830’s in Germany, and is a very rare breed. It is actually considered threatened by the Livestock Conservancy. It is another beautiful small bird, with white and black feathers and blue legs. The eggs production on this breed is a little lower, providing you with 2-4 cream colored eggs weekly. They are excellent for free ranging in hot climates, but do not do well in cold.
Purpose : Egg Layer
Approximate Egg Production : 150 annually
Egg Size : Medium
Hen Size : 4 pounds
Broodiness : not very likely
Where to buy: Silver Lakenvelder – Baby Chicks for Sale | Cackle Hatchery®
10. Minorcas – Heritage
Minorcas are a large Mediterranean breed, that thrives in warmer climates. They are good foragers, making them an excellent choice for free ranging. You’ll find varieties such as the Black Minorca and the Buff Minorca. Even though they only lay rougly 120 eggs per year, they will be large to extra-large in size! Their large size and love of free ranging may make them a poor fit if you only have a small space or homestead. But if you have the space to let them roam, you may enjoy this breed with a feisty personality!
Purpose: Egg Layer
Approximate Egg Production : 120 per year
Egg Size : Extra Large
Hen Size : 7 1/2 pounds
Broodiness: not likely at all
Where to Buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Black Minorca
11. Buttercups – Heritage
Buttercups are a rare breed of Mediterranean chicks that was imported from Sicily. The have a very interesting comb, that looks somewhat like a crown. Another interesting thing about these birds is that the roosters and hens do not share the same feather coloring. They are good foragers and very heat tolerant. They don’t rank highest in terms of egg production but will still provide you with 3-4 eggs weekly. If you are looking for a unique breed to add to your backyard flock or a show bird, this breed may be for you!
Purpose : Egg layer / show
Approximate Egg Production : 180 per year
Egg Size: Small
Hen size : 5 lbs
Broodiness : not likely at all
Where to buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Buttercups
12.Crevecoeurs – Heritage
This is another very rare and unique looking breed, that originated in Normandy, France. The Crevecoeurs are similar in type to Houdans, with a large crest. Crevecoeurs are one of the larger breeds of white egg layers. They are somewhat hard to find due to a global breeding population of under 1000. They have fair egg production, are not good to free range, and are not cold tolerant.
Purpose : Egg layer / Ornamental
Approximate Egg Production : 150-200 per year
Egg Size: Medium
Hen size : 6.5 lbs
Broodiness : not likely at all
Where to buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Crevecoeurs
13. Silver Phoenix – Heritage
The Silver Phoenix is a beautiful breed with a unique characteristic – their tail feathers can grow to be several feet long! They are smaller bird, requiring a small amount of space, which could make them a good choice for backyard chicken owners. They are very tolerant of heat, but do not do well in cold weather. Also worth noting, if you’re looking for a lot of eggs, this probably won’t be the bird for you. They have the lowest estimated egg production of the breeds on this list. These birds can also require a diet with extra protein while those beautiful, long tail feathers are growing.
Purpose: Ornamental
Approximate Egg Production: 80 per year
Egg Size: Small
Hen size : 4 pounds
Broodiness : somewhat likely
Where to buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Silver Phoenix
14. Golden Campines – Heritage
The Golden Campine originated in Belgium and is considered a very rare breed. They are known to be very active and hardy. They are small in size, fairly good foragers, and do better in warm temperatures. If you’re able to free-range this breed, they will surely be happy! They are fair egg layers, and you can expect 2-3 medium white eggs weekly.
Purpose: Egg Layer
Approximate Egg Production: around 150 yearly
Egg Size: Medium
Hen Size: 4 pounds
Broodiness : Not likely at all
Where to Buy: Murray McMurray Hatchery – Golden Campines
15. Houdans – Heritage
Houdans are a rare and distinct looking bird that originated in France. Complete with a full crest, muffs and a beard, this breed will be a favorite among your flock. Due to the large crest, this birds vision can sometimes be blocked. That means free ranging them is not the best option. However, they are a docile breed that lays a decent number of white eggs. Mostly they are kept as backyard pets or for show purposes. They are one of the larger white egg laying breeds.
Purpose : Egg Layer / Show
Approximate Egg Production: 200 per year on average
Egg Size : Medium
Hen Size : 6.5 pounds
Broodiness : Somewhat likely
Where to Buy : Mottled Houdan Day Old Chicks (meyerhatchery.com)
There you have it! Hopefully you are able to find a good breed for your flock. Keep in mind to research proper care for each breed, especially the breeds that are less common here in the United States.
Read More Backyard Chicken Posts:
Lavender Orpington Chicken Guide – What You Need to Know – Humbly Rooted Home
How Much Does It Cost to Raise Chickens for Meat [2022] – Homesteading (humblyrootedhome.com)
I just found your youtube channel and I love your home tour. I think that what you are doing is awesome! We are trying to do the same but where we live there is no land to buy so we are limited until our kid goes to college. I hope that you do more videos. I love your home… it is beautiful. We “followed the dream” and bought a 1900 square foot house that has been problem after problem… we work to pay bills… it’s sad. I hope one day to have the freedom that you have found!
Hi Carrie! Thank you so much for the kind words. I hope to keep making YouTube videos as well. Just trying to balance it all 🙂