Reviews by Y N dottes

This might be a surprise, but my Leghorn/Cal.White are my smartest birds. Technically they aren't pure White Leghorns, but actually a California White which is a Cal. Grey X Leghorn cross. There was no Cal. White breed listed, or one I could find, so I'm posting here. They are very much like Leghorns in most aspects. Without the black specks in their feather I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But anyway, from the day I brought them home as chicks they knew where the food came from. . . . .me. Now at 21 wks they will follow me and one will jump on my lap to eat. The first one to lay started at 20 wks. OK for this breed. The other seems to be slow to the draw. They are not very flighty which may be a result from the Cal. Grey blood in them, though they can fly well if they so choose. Overall a very good breed.


20 wks old


16 wks approx


8 wks

I have just one Ancona now that started laying several weeks ago. As of now her eggs are still quite small. Even smaller than my Leghorn's eggs who started laying just a couple weeks ago. That being said she lays everyday now. She is a small bodied bird like many Mediterranean breeds which is nice since their feed intake is much smaller than my heavier breeds. Also, like many Mediterranean breeds she is a good flyer. Somewhat flighty when startled, but that isn't really a problem for me. Of course, she doesn't like being held, but she has never pecked or fought against me once I grab her. I love her large comb and I hope it gets even bigger and flops over, but that might be just me, . This could cause problems when it gets cold out, which is inevitable in Wisconsin. She started laying at 21 weeks approx. which I was slightly disappointed with since I thought these were early laying breeds, but it would be my luck to get one who takes her time. Oh well, to each its own. I would suggest this breed to others for both its usefulness as a layer and the beautiful looks.

I did have an Ancona roo that I got rid of at 14 weeks. He started crowing at 13 wks and neighbors started to notice. I don't he would have made a good flock rooster though. Too shy and selfish.





Here she is a few weeks before laying. Her comb is much bigger and redder now

I got 2 RIRs for their good egg laying and they have definitly lived up to their reputation. Since they have started laying consistntly, they have both given me 6-7 eggs a week. This has been the 4th week since.
They are very smart birds and were the first in my flock to find the nesting boxes and roosts when they were moved to the coop.
The only problem is that they are at the bottom of the pecking order and are picked on by my Barred Rocks a lot.

My 3 barred rock hens rule my RIRs w/ a heavy hand, but they are extremely nice w/ people. They are greedy birds. They are not as smart as my RIRs, but lay very well(6-7/week).