Breeding Buff Leghorns

[math ace]

I prefer higher tails rather than low tails. Wide birds with big shanks are usually larger birds with more frame.

I just went for a quick reference to my collage of leghorn photos. The schilling drawing that I have shows a very steep concave back on the leghorn, very much like a u. Which would fit more your preferance for a higher tail.

 

[gjensen]

I learned some things from this exchange. I appreciate the questions, and especially Dan's answers. I went back and reviewed the Leghorns in the Standard, particularly the written section.
Leghorns are a good looking breed. They have a way about them.

 

[ArieBLB]

Here I have a variation on the Schilling drawning

 

[mschlumb]

[COLOR=800080]Here is another thought.... I don't see the yellowing of the ear lobe in the pullets.  Is the yellow of ear lobe -Genetic,  environmental  OR Hormonal?  Could the male hormones cause the yellowing of the ear lobes just like it causes the pinking in the legs ??[/COLOR]

That's a good question as has been said feeding can affect the earlobe color. Maybe horomones do have something to do with it. I've never really explored why, and frankly i dont care why I just know it shouldn't be there! So select away from that. Just one of those male/female things I guess. Sorry I can't give you a good answer

 

[mschlumb]

Has anyone tried crossing buffs with whites? I imagine the color would fade drastically but it should do wonders for the type.

 

[ArieBLB]

Yes I did a cross with the whites.
It will costs you at least 5 or more generations to get back in good color
http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/nummers/08E06A04.pdf

 

[mschlumb]

Yes I did a cross with the whites.

It will costs you at least 5 or more generations to get back in good color
http://www.aviculture-europe.nl/nummers/08E06A04.pdf

Thanks for the link!

 

[danhonour]

I crossed Buff and White years ago.It took about 4 years of backcrossing to pure Buff males to get the color back and by then the better type was small,not any better than strict selection within the pure Buffs. There was a high percentage of culls with this project. If you can find,great typed Black Leghorns, Black tailed Red Leghorns ,or Brown Leghorns.(but use outstanding show type Leghorns),.you could end up with some richer buffs using repeated backcrosses to buff males.

It is possible that if the F1 from a Buff x White cross were bred together and really huge numbers bred to get the f2,perhaps a tiny percentage (1-5 %) would have type and color if you were lucky.White in tails ,wings ,and whitish under color will be persistent and slow to yield to solid buff tails.You may see blue,or faint barring feathers and green legs in the f1.

Any time you cross with buff,be prepared to have lots of culls and allow for years of work ,if you expect to benefit from the process.. I sometimes think just looking for individual pure Buffs that have some traits you need,will do you more good.

In relation to the concave Leghorn back.It is the saddle and tail coverts that fill in the section just before the tail.The more feathers in this section (multiple feathering gene),the better the chance there will not be an aburpt break just before the tail making an angle instead of a curve..Dan

 

[Clipclop]

Would anyone know of any Red Leghorns in the United States? I know a couple of hatcheries that have some and I want to see if there are any breeders that do before I go to hatcheries. If I have to I will order a set from one hatchery and another set from a different hatchery later on and compare which one has the best stock and then try to breed up from there. Now if the hatchery type is not correct leghorn type which color leghorn should I use with the red leghorns to improve type yet not destroy the red? Anyone with knowledge please share.

Thanks

 

[mschlumb]

Would anyone know of any Red Leghorns in the United States? I know a couple of hatcheries that have some and I want to see if there are any breeders that do before I go to hatcheries. If I have to I will order a set from one hatchery and another set from a different hatchery later on and compare which one has the best stock and then try to breed up from there. Now if the hatchery type is not correct leghorn type which color leghorn should I use with the red leghorns to improve type yet not destroy the red? Anyone with knowledge please share.

Thanks

Curtis Oakes is the only one that i know of who has red Leghorns.