Chicken Breed Focus - Leghorn

[N F C]

I do believe this is an Exchequer. I had a couple at one time. Very pretty birds.

They are pretty girls! Thanks for the response Cynthia.

 

[CrazyPetunias]

I have owned white leghorns for about 4 years.



· What made you decide to get this breed?
I like having white eggs

· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
I keep them for eggs and pets

· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
They lay almost all year long. My girls lay big eggs too. Its not uncommon to see a double yolk egg every so often.

· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

I lost my oldest girl this year to a mink. Thankfully I still have 2 leghorns left. I call them my 'showgirls' because when they were babies they liked to fly everywhere. They were always showing off. I also have an Americana who lays green eggs.

 

[Flock Master64]

I have a White Leghorn hen with blue eyes

 

[lorelli]

Hi I'm new to raising chickens and I'm wanting to get Barred Rock and Leghorns. Are they going to get along?

 

[Alaskan]

Leghorns are flighty, right? Or does that depend on the individual? And even though they're flighty, they're not mean right?

They are flighty, but they are very food motived and that can tame them and train them quickly.

How flighty they are depends on the variety of Leghorns, the different colors and rose comb verses single comb can be quite different.

My flightiest by far...of all of the colors that I have tried, are my Rose Comb Dark Brown. Those birds are mostly wild and are the most difficult to tame down. However, they are still food motivated, and for a chicken, they are most predator resistant.

The single comb production whites are the most likely to go cannibalistic if you crowd them as chicks. However, they calm down pretty well, and are excellent as adults and can NOT be beat in regards to egg laying.

My Rose Comb White Leghorns are maybe my favorite. They are sweet, only very slightly flighty, pretty mellow and calm for a Leghorn. They are good in confinement, very healthy, and lay like champs. (But not as well as the production whites)

Hi I'm new to raising chickens and I'm wanting to get Barred Rock and Leghorns. Are they going to get along?

Both of those have similar personalities and so should do perfectly together.

 

[ShrekDawg]

They are flighty, but they are very food motived and that can tame them and train them quickly.

How flighty they are depends on the variety of Leghorns, the different colors and rose comb verses single comb can be quite different.

My flightiest by far...of all of the colors that I have tried, are my Rose Comb Dark Brown. Those birds are mostly wild and are the most difficult to tame down. However, they are still food motivated, and for a chicken, they are most predator resistant.

The single comb production whites are the most likely to go cannibalistic if you crowd them as chicks. However, they calm down pretty well, and are excellent as adults and can NOT be beat in regards to egg laying.

My Rose Comb White Leghorns are maybe my favorite. They are sweet, only very slightly flighty, pretty mellow and calm for a Leghorn. They are good in confinement, very healthy, and lay like champs. (But not as well as the production whites)
Both of those have similar personalities and so should do perfectly together.

Thanks for all the info! I hadn't realized there were such differences

 

[The Moonshiner]

What made you decide to get this breed?
I've been around chickens most of my life and have owned more than 100 breeds at different times. Leghorns are my favorite. Got into them because my grandma had them and she got me into chickens.

Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
All the above. They are fun. Love breeding the different colors and breeding for new colors/patterns. Do sell chicks, hatching and eating eggs at times and have shown them.

What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
They lay more eggs then any breed. Start laying younger and do it all on less feed. They are known to be flighty which I really like because as someone else mentioned they do great at free ranging and staying alive.

We have a few rose combs. Lt brown, dk brown and isabella.
Straight comb. Lt brown, isabella, white, bk tailed red, buff, silver, barred, mille fleur, exchequer, black and some projects.

 

[RodNTN]

Hi I'm new to raising chickens and I'm wanting to get Barred Rock and Leghorns. Are they going to get along?

Mine get along well, very well in fact.

 

[N F C]

@The Moonshiner your birds are gorgeous! Thanks for showing the various colors, they are all beautiful!

 

[big bouncer]

Hi I'm new to raising chickens and I'm wanting to get Barred Rock and Leghorns. Are they going to get along?

Yes. I had 3 leghorns (2h 1r). One had a crooked tail and died when she had her first egg. Couldn't lay it. That was jewel. Jolee spams eggs haha. She has been known for extreme productivity the last two times she did not lay one day, she layer TWO the next day! She is the only white egg layer so it could only be her. The rooster is I'm not shy. He is known for sometimes pecking us and kicking. But he is good most of the time and wants to be pet or maybe he doesn't like me holding his ladies so he comes over to scare me. When he kicks I chase him until a catch him, to show I'm dominant. Anyways, we have barred rock chicks 2.5 months old. The leghorns are almost a year. They get along pretty well, but it is some of our bigger ladies that seem to not like the younglings as much. Is there a way to get them to stop doing their pecking order. If they are caught chasing or pecking younglings, I spank them (not too hard tho haha). But the rooster is pretty good. He doesn't like the cold very much but he tolerates it. Bouncer my Jersey giant rooster has only been caught laying down (not including chick days or on the roost at night) one time! He is always on lookout and patrol for hawks, strangers, and the occasional mating. Bouncer is the best haha. He is bigger than every hawk and he flexes whenever he spots one. Him and jester make hawk warning sounds and the ladies run. They stay outside of cover, but near it and flex. If the hawk descends any, they go to cover. If one chases on foot, odds are that the hawk will end up dead. The roosters probably cut a bit, and a chick either dead or injured (sometimes the chickens or chicks don't run straight away). The chickens learned fast to fear hawks after Orphelia was eaten by one. We now protect the coop with many means. DM me for how if you are interested. We have had to shoot one coyote. Left the body out far in field where they tend to go. Didn't see any for a long time. They fear us now. One was in our driveway after dark, I heard it and saw it run away as I walked back from closing the coop.