Langshan Thread!!!

[Finnie]

Yes, Langshans are definitely slow to mature. Even though he gets along with your other chickens, he might still be a bit of an outcast since he has none of his broodermates to hang out with. And older hens will often keep a young cockerel in his place, so it might take several more months until he develops the maturity and confidence to act the role of flock rooster. But I would think that without any other roosters to compete with, he will get there eventually.

 

[CallMeMealworm]

Here she is again!! Possible langshan? Not laying yet either. Also she's sooooo tall. Blue or slate legs. Pink toenails. Huge amount of feathers. Green sheen.

 

[SilverWolff]

Can anyone tell me if this breed hard to raise? I’ve had a dozen chicks at various times & I can never get a single 1 to adulthood. I’ve tried medicated feed, non medicated, gamebird chick starter (feed bought varies locations & brands of feed) and yet all die before they reach 4.5 months old. Actually I’ve only had one reach 4 months & it died within a few days of reaching 4 months.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Acre4Me]

Yes, Langshans are definitely slow to mature. Even though he gets along with your other chickens, he might still be a bit of an outcast since he has none of his broodermates to hang out with. And older hens will often keep a young cockerel in his place, so it might take several more months until he develops the maturity and confidence to act the role of flock rooster. But I would think that without any other roosters to compete with, he will get there eventually.

So, it has been a couple of months since my last post. Our langshan male has begun to crow and mate! He does not crow a lot, so far. He is wary of the humans, and keeps his distance. He does not harass the girls either. Not sure if he’s mating all the girls, though. He is tall!

 

[Finnie]

Can anyone tell me if this breed hard to raise? I’ve had a dozen chicks at various times & I can never get a single 1 to adulthood. I’ve tried medicated feed, non medicated, gamebird chick starter (feed bought varies locations & brands of feed) and yet all die before they reach 4.5 months old. Actually I’ve only had one reach 4 months & it died within a few days of reaching 4 months.

Any help would be appreciated.

I haven’t found them to be especially difficult. I did lose several to heat one summer. Where did you get your chicks from? I assume you have no trouble raising other breeds to maturity, and it’s only the Langshans having trouble?

 

[Pollmadoll]

Can anyone help me candle three guinea fowl eggs . Which candler is best. I have had no problem with chick eggs

 

[Skyleen13]

Here’s some of my langshan flock I’ve raised! I love this breed. Was turned onto it by accident. A local breeder had some extra roosters that he was retiring from his breed stock so new young blood could be added to the mix. I wanted a rooster but I got lucky/unlucky with my chicken math & all 12 of my straight run mixed chicks ended up being pullets! I contacted him & told him I would love to add him to my flock where he could “retire” with a flock all his own. The guy was elated. He was totally expecting all his boys to wind up in the pot. To help me out more he sold me 2 older langshan hens to go with him. Both gals have since passed but both gave me some very adorable babies & daddy is very much the gentleman. He’s now 4 going on 5 & still the top cock on the block. One of his very few sons is his beta rooster & he keeps him in line. Both are tough as nails & have even killed a raccoon in defense of their ladies! I love the breed & will always have them in my flock from now on.

 

[JKHerdItAll]

Hello, Langshan people! Do any of you also have Australorps? We're debating which breed to add to our farm! Which do you think would handle Wisconsin weather best? Or would a different breed altogether be better? We're looking for something all-black to hopefully help prevent hawk attacks!

 

[3KillerBs]

Hello, Langshan people! Do any of you also have Australorps? We're debating which breed to add to our farm! Which do you think would handle Wisconsin weather best? Or would a different breed altogether be better? We're looking for something all-black to hopefully help prevent hawk attacks!

Hello!

I have both a Black Langshan cockerel with one pullet of his breed AND a Blue Australorp cockerel with both adult hens and pullets of that breed.

In re: the Black Langshans (from Ideal),

While there are never any guarantees with cockerels, at 9 months Ludwig, the Black Langshan, is the most mild-mannered cockeral imaginable. He moves out of my way when I walk around the coop and pen -- not fearful or flighty, but respectful -- and is so good with the ladies that fertile eggs began appearing without me ever actually seeing him mate (there were a couple episodes of me seeing him "hen surfing" with one of the more dominant ladies who were refusing him, but literally only two and only when he was first coming into his hormones).

He's a big boy, tall and solid already and, since they're known to be late to mature, he's still got a good bit of growing to do.

The pullet, lays a solidly medium egg -- 52g last time I was sure one was hers -- of a pinkish-brown. She was one of the last of my pullets to start laying (at the same time as the large-fowl Cochin), but wasn't unduly late.

In re: the Blue Australorps (from Welp),

They are crazy-early for maturity. The cockerel I kept had well-developed male hackles and saddles before he was 11 weeks old and the first of the adult hens to lay last year laid a week before the California White did.

If you can't be definite about a 9-month cockerel, it's even harder to be definite about a 22-week cockerel, but he hasn't given me any trouble and is mating with even the senior pullets with their apparent consent.^

The hens are calm, no-drama chickens who lay solidly Large and XL eggs of a light brown on a near daily basis. One of two adults when broody last summer, my others are just hitting POL so I don't know about them.

^Funny thing about this, Rameses the Blue Australorp, will be mating with one of the ladies and Ludwig, the Black Langshan will come over and watch the process -- not aggressively disrupting it, but as if he's puzzled by it. But when the hens protested while Ramses was younger Ludwig would break it up.

 

[3KillerBs]

Oops,

I forgot to say, you should consider your soil when considering whether feathered feet are a good choice or not.

Feather-footed chickens do best in areas that are well-drained and/or sandy. Sticky clay isn't good for feathered feet because the mud builds up on the foot feathers and causes problems.