We have 16 soon-to-be laying chickens right now (they hatched on July 18th). They are various breeds:  Pearl White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Blue Andalusians & Black Australorps. These breeds are known to be pretty strong layers. I got an assortment of breeds because I enjoy the variety of birds. On the Conservation List at the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy the Andalusians are listed as Threatened, Leghorns as Recovering, Rhode Island Reds as Watch & Australorps as Recovering.