Opinions on my leghorn? Just curious/for fun

[nicalandia]

I^ve got my hands on Hyline W-80 pullets and cockerels 14 weeks old(not related to each other) they are not good looking heck You may Say sorry looking(the males have been actually mistreated), but are about the most prolific egg layers known to men(500 eggs at 100 weeks of age)

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This doesn't apply just to Leghorns, but in general, where would one go to find a description of the breed standard for any breed? What's that called, the Standard of Perfection, I believe?

 

[black_cat]

This doesn't apply just to Leghorns, but in general, where would one go to find a description of the breed standard for any breed? What's that called, the Standard of Perfection, I believe?

Yes! I am looking for this as well.

 

[black_cat]

The hen in the pic has laid one egg every day since she started laying for us, only missing one day so far.

 

[black_cat]

I have almost no hope that she WOULD be show quality, but you could always try, right? I'd love to show birds, but at the moment I don't have the space or the time for selective breeding, and I also don't really have anywhere that I could get birds that aren't just hatchery quality.

 

[Ruthster55]

You can find an old Standard of Perfection here for a general idea, and if seriously interested, buy a new one from the APA.

https://archive.org/details/cu31924003039439

If you’re interested in showing your birds, I would not go with hatchery stock. Hatchery stock probably lay pretty well but may not have good body conformation or plumage.

When you have the space and time, you might want to contact a breeder who actually knows something about Leghorns.

With enough room, I would get a trio or a pen from a Leghorn breeder and also would have a well-running incubator.

 

[black_cat]

You can find an old Standard of Perfection here for a general idea, and if seriously interested, buy a new one from the APA.

https://archive.org/details/cu31924003039439

If you’re interested in showing your birds, I would not go with hatchery stock. Hatchery stock probably lay pretty well but may not have good body conformation or plumage.

When you have the space and time, you might want to contact a breeder who actually knows something about Leghorns.

With enough room, I would get a trio or a pen from a Leghorn breeder and also would have a well-running incubator.

I have no idea if this is a bird from a hatchery or what. I got them from a farm, so I'm assuming so. I'm just curious what people think are good and bad traits in her. I'm curious about showing my birds and I think it could be a fun experience, but I'm a long way off.My other 3 are red sex links, so not a great choice, and any others I would get at this point in time would definitely be from a hatchery. I know that hatchery quality is pretty low and isn't really a good choice for showing, but I'm kinda saying that if I were to bring this bird to a show and you were a judge, what would you say. I mostly do things in theory on here, as I will not have any way to do things in practice for another 20 years or so, and I'd rather enjoy the research and the questions and answers and the learning and planning now.

 

[Ruthster55]

I have no idea if this is a bird from a hatchery or what. I got them from a farm, so I'm assuming so. I'm just curious what people think are good and bad traits in her. I'm curious about showing my birds and I think it could be a fun experience, but I'm a long way off.My other 3 are red sex links, so not a great choice, and any others I would get at this point in time would definitely be from a hatchery. I know that hatchery quality is pretty low and isn't really a good choice for showing, but I'm kinda saying that if I were to bring this bird to a show and you were a judge, what would you say. I mostly do things in theory on here, as I will not have any way to do things in practice for another 20 years or so, and I'd rather enjoy the research and the questions and answers and the learning and planning now.

Ask @The Moonshiner. He’s the Leghorn specialist around here. I’m sure he will have an opinion about Tillie.

 

[black_cat]

Her are some updates on what Tillie looks like. I like to think she looks much healthier now. She's still got that squirrel tail, though.

She does lay almost every day, rarely skipping.

 

[black_cat]

The old-timers trap-nested their Leghorn hens to select in favor of the hens with the best egg laying. You would need several Leghorn hens and a record-keeping system to do this.

Same goes for Minorcas and other Mediterranean breeds.

How is Tillie in the breakfast department? If she’s worth breeding, she should be laying almost daily.

She now lays every day, after settling in to her new home. There have only been a few exceptions:
-days when it's stormy and very dark all day (nobody lays on those days)
-the day after a double yolker