White Leghorn, the forgotten breed

[PeepersMama]

White Leghorns:

I love my white leghorns...The roosters are so proud with their tall comb aright and their posture so perky...Those lean ladies are veritable laying machines...I think some must lay twice a day....They just never stop even in the middle of a freak ice storm in the south!

The babies so yellow and cuddly...The eggs so sumptuous and large....

I love my White leghorns and just wanted to stand up for the forgotten breed.

Anyone else????

Since when are leghorns a forgotten breed? I've gotten the idea that they are nearly as well known as RIR's.
Maybe quality exhibition birds are dwindling in numbers, but they're in no danger of extreme rarity

 

[cmom]

They are not rare. That's what most of the commercial eggs in grocery stores come from White Leghorns as they are economical to feed but are at the same time laying machines. I have both White Leghorns and Brown Leghorns.

 

[PeepersMama]

show quality lines? I want to get some of those, but daddy only knows the super crazy production types

 

[cmom]

show quality lines? I want to get some of those, but daddy only knows the super crazy production types

I don't think my lines are quite there yet. I think in around another year I should have some potential show quality. It takes a few years of selective breeding to get show quality. I'm working on it.

 

[PeepersMama]

I don't think my lines are quite there yet. I think in around another year I should have some potential show quality. It takes a few years of selective breeding to get show quality. I'm working on it.

Cool

 

[Chickengirl55]

I just got day old chickens a little less than five weeks ago. I had gotten one Leghorn her name is Kentucky or KFC, though we absolutely no intention of eating her. But she is definitely my favorite bird, she loves to get lose and fly out of the plastic bin we keep them in. I always used to find her out and roosting on an upright piece of wood. By the way its still really cold outside so at such a young age we have decided not to move them outside yet. We let them outside when its warm enough and she acts like she has seen everything and owns it, she always wants to fly onto my shoulder and be a little parrot. Is that normal, should they be flying so young or should I prevent that?

 

[Alaskan]

The only reason to stop her flying is if it will land her into trouble. (Flying into the toilet to drown, flying into the dog pen to get eaten, etc.).

If she is in a safe environment, there is no reason at all to stop her from exercising.

At five weeks old they are probably old enough to be in a closed up coop... ... depending on your temperatures of course. 60F should be fine at this point. However, you can always take them out for a bit and see if they look cold or if they stay active and are running around happily.

If your nights are still cold, 40F or colder, then you could bring them inside every night to sleep.

 

[Miss Ameraucana]

I just had to share these photos. I took them this afternoon. My two white leghorns are the sweetest calmest chicks out of all 45 of the chicks we bought. Different breeds. Including Easter Eggers, Cochin, Wellsummer chicks. As the photos say it all, their absolutely some of my very favorites just cause their extremely calm and very friendly, from day one! They are maybe two months old and have been hand raised but they were never wild at all! Completely trusting and sweethearts from day one! Snowflake and Snowball

lol.
My hubby had sentimental memories of them as these were what they had on the farm growing up.

He wanted a couple of them. They are hatchery birds from Estes hatchery in Missouri. We live in KS. and bought them at Orschlens, our farm store.
I've had a lot of birds in the past three years, every one of them are our pets first, I have to say there have only been maybe two other chicks as friendly and gentle as these from day one. They have been raised with a lot of human contact but I swear their like dogs, always wanting to be held and petted! My hubby's were very flighty and that's what we've always heard, can't get near them...
Who knew? Lol. We're really glad their part of our flock!

 

[Alaskan]

I just had to share these photos. I took them this afternoon. My two white leghorns are the sweetest calmest chicks out of all 45 of the chicks we bought. Different breeds. Including Easter Eggers, Cochin, Wellsummer chicks. As the photos say it all, their absolutely some of my very favorites just cause their extremely calm and very friendly, from day one! They are maybe two months old and have been hand raised but they were never wild at all! Completely trusting and sweethearts from day one! Snowflake and Snowball

lol.
My hubby had sentimental memories of them as these were what they had on the farm growing up.

He wanted a couple of them. They are hatchery birds from Estes hatchery in Missouri. We live in KS. and bought them at Orschlens, our farm store.
I've had a lot of birds in the past three years, every one of them are our pets first, I have to say there have only been maybe two other chicks as friendly and gentle as these from day one. They have been raised with a lot of human contact but I swear their like dogs, always wanting to be held and petted! My hubby's were very flighty and that's what we've always heard, can't get near them...
Who knew? Lol. We're really glad their part of our flock!

Nice to hear how sweet they are!

My hatchery single comb whites were a little flighty when young, but mellowed into sweet hens......now I can't remember which hatchery
I used...maybe Cackle.


Glad you mentioned the hatchery they were from......it can make a huge difference.

 

[Chickengirl55]

Thanks for the help, I just love chickens so much! Aren't they the sweetest little things!