Brown vs. White Leghorns

[The ChickInn egg supply]

Hey, I’m thinking of adding a few white egg layers to my flock this year and am interested in Leghorns. I prefer the looks of the brown ones but have heard that they are larger, therefore have a worse food to egg ratio, and lay less in general. I have a covered run but do let them free range in the spring and summer. There are many hawks around but they have never bothered my hens. Only owls. Is it just worth getting all whites because of egg laying? Or should I get a mix? Thanks!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

The White Leghorn is much different from all the other Leghorns. They're all production, and is the top battery chicken. The White Leghorn is an egg laying machine, and doesn't weigh that much.
Other Leghorns, don't lay as many eggs as the White Leghorn. They weigh a little bit more, and have even been known to go broody before. They're still good egg layers, but aren't the top like the White Leghorn.

Me personally, I'd go with a mix for a variety of different birds to look at. I love my mixed flocks, but that's what I'm usually looking for, not size or productivity.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Great, thanks for your opinions. Is the rose comb better for cold climates?

Yes. Single combs, especially the bigger combs like roosters, and/or the White Leghorn's, have a higher chance of frostbite.

 

[The ChickInn egg supply]

Great, thanks for your opinions. Is the rose comb better for cold climates?

 

[The ChickInn egg supply]

Ok. Those would probably be pretty hard to find though. I live in Colorado, and some nights get to single digits and high negatives, do you think it is necessary to worry about getting rose combs or just get regular?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I realize this thread is a couple months old but want to add my experience. I had brown Leghorns for a couple of years and found them plenty productive, though I only had five. They were a lot less personable than my Easter Eggers, right from Day One. They were skittish and panicky. But whereas I started with something like 15 EE and ended up with 8, I started with 5 BL and ended with 5. I never lost one to a predator. They were alert and reactive where the EE were kind of slow and dumb. Even with their large single combs, they never got frostbite. Four of them gave me bright white eggs and one gave me kind of a soft cream egg. They were tough, hardy little birds. And when I sent them to the freezer at age 3, they made delicious soup although they were not large. I would say they averaged 4 eggs a week each except during molt and a deep, bitter cold winter.

 

[nuthatched]

I've never heard that before, I would assume that they have little difference in body beside color, leghorns are known for their egg production. you can, however, get rose-comb brown leghorns, I've never seen white rose combs.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Ok. Those would probably be pretty hard to find though. I live in Colorado, and some nights get to single digits and high negatives, do you think it is necessary to worry about getting rose combs or just get regular?

Rose combs would be better in colder temps.

 

[KathrynBeck]

I realize this thread is a couple months old but want to add my experience. I had brown Leghorns for a couple of years and found them plenty productive, though I only had five. They were a lot less personable than my Easter Eggers, right from Day One. They were skittish and panicky. But whereas I started with something like 15 EE and ended up with 8, I started with 5 BL and ended with 5. I never lost one to a predator. They were alert and reactive where the EE were kind of slow and dumb. Even with their large single combs, they never got frostbite. Four of them gave me bright white eggs and one gave me kind of a soft cream egg. They were tough, hardy little birds. And when I sent them to the freezer at age 3, they made delicious soup although they were not large. I would say they averaged 4 eggs a week each except during molt and a deep, bitter cold winter.

Thank you for this update! I’m debating between brown and white leghorns. I kind of feel like bright white would be bad with predators but would like the high egg production. This helped!

 

[Franklinridgefarms]

I’ve had both, mostly white, but have had a few brown Leghorns. Browns lay considerably less than the white Leghorns, but are still decent layers and very pretty birds. The ones I had, the size difference was negligible, temperaments were the same.
I am in KY, and we have some cold spells in winter, have never had any frostbite issues with hens. They tend to put their heads under their wings when on the roost. Have had some frostbite on roosters combs though.