Chicken Breed Focus - Langshan

[HeritageGoose13]

I suggest bald eagles.

I think that may require a permit

. But I bet you wouldn't have predation issues!

Also, I wish the breed focus was a little longer. I think there could have been more information put into it on the different strains, but I guess that's what the Langshan thread is for.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

How many eggs do they lay?

 

[Lovere]

Thank you ALL for your helpful and "other" advice. I like the idea of the Nankins to use as incubator, and they are a nice looking bird, too. Bald Eagles, on the other hand....They are a bit too big for my purposes.

 

[N F C]

@Kelsie2290 I ordered ten blacks and five (their max) blues from SandHill. They couldn't fill the order so sent the other chicks on my order and packing peanuts. When I got the box it said it contained four langshans, yeah better than none, except there was only one and only 22 chicks not 25....?
You can tell at a couple days old it's going to be a tall one. This is a pic the day I got it.

What a cool looking chick! It would be fun to see a picture when it's a bit older.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Dont forget the Australian Langshan.

They are much smaller in the body than the croads but still have long, feathered legs. When they where first brought to Australia there where limited numbers and needed to be bred with Australorps to continue the birds on, eventuating in the new type of Langshan. I believe.

I thought I'd butt in here, I have two Bantam Langshans. I'm not sure what they were mixed with or how they are bantams, but I LOVE them! They were given to me by a friend who got them from someone who breeds them in Pennsylvania. She gave them to me because I had a fox attack and lost a chicken. She did not prefer these because they are bantams. Mine were not hand raised to my knowledge, so I wouldn't say they are friendly. They are halfway in size between my Australorp and my bantam Cochin.

I call my two girls Flora and Fauna because I can barely tell them apart. They do have the most gorgeous green sheen in their feathers. They are about 2 years old. Fauna has been broody several times already, and Flora just completed her first broody cycle. Fauna went broody in December, then again in April/May, and just started the other day again.

Here are some pics of Flora with her babies, in the one pic, you can see her trying to scare off my SLW. This chicks are "adopted" from fertile eggs I got from a friend, we don't have a rooster.


Mama with her chicks:

Defending her babies!

I think this is Fauna when she had a rough molt after brooding.

More Mama with chicks...

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Nice pictures!

 

[bruceha2000]

Defending her babies!

Their tendency to go broody is useful if you want more chickens. Lots easier to have a hen raise them in the coop than to have people do it in a brooder.

Yep, that is what my BIG Black Australorp foster mother looks like. As if she weren't big enough, easily 20% bigger than my next largest bird (an EE), she goes 2x when she lifts her wings, stands TALL and flares her feathers. Even the Anconcas (top of the flock) won't get near her now. She and a self appointed Aunt (a Faverolles) even flogged an adult woodchuck back into its hole on Sunday!! Do NOT mess with my babies. The woodchuck wasn't closer than 20' away nor paying ANY attention to the birds but apparently that was close enough to get a whipping.

 

[Jackschicks]

I ordered 45 chicks from McMurray of 6 different breeds. 10 of that order was a straight run of Black Langshans(I actually received 12 - 11 black and 1 white) They are 18 weeks old today. I can give you my thoughts on them so far. To be honest, I was pretty unimpressed with them in the beginning but they have steadily grown on me until I have now decided that I will always have some in my flock. They seemed to be the flightiest of all my chicks, Whereas the other chicks got used to being handled on a daily basis and coming to me for treats, the Langshans acted like they were being murdered every time you even tried to touch them or pick them up. They were also the smallest and runtiest of the chicks and all the other chicks seemed to choose them to pick on and peck on. To keep them safe , I actually had to separate out just the Langshans to a different brooder and once they all moved out to the coop and pen I was constantly treating the Langshans wounds with "No Peck". They just seemed to get off to a slower start than the other breeds (Jersey Giants,SG Dorkings,Welsummers,Dominiques,& Buff Orpingtons). Now that they are 18 weeks old, their sizes are actually all over the place-I'm sure that has more to do with the stock I got from McMurray than the breed itself. Some of the Langshans are on the petite side, most are now in the normal range, and some are actually quite large. They have become more accustomed to being handled although none of them actually jump into my lap or use me as a roost like the Jersey Giants do.
I have now separated the pullets & roos into separate pens. Most of these 20 odd roosters are headed for freezer camp but I will keep a few to protect the hens and for breeding new stock. I sit and watch them every day trying to decide which roosters to keep. I love their regal, upright stance and they come very close to me and stand calmly and stare at me with such an intelligent look on their face, its almost like I can see the wheels turning in their brain. While they are not the most affectionate of my birds, they are very low key




and seem to have the least rooster drama. I am definately going to keep at least 2 of the Langshan roosters and all the hens. So far none of the hens have begun to lay so I can't offer any comments on egg color or quantity. I am hoping for plum eggs!!

 

[N F C]

I ordered 45 chicks from McMurray of 6 different breeds. 10 of that order was a straight run of Black Langshans(I actually received 12 - 11 black and 1 white) They are 18 weeks old today. I can give you my thoughts on them so far. To be honest, I was pretty unimpressed with them in the beginning but they have steadily grown on me until I have now decided that I will always have some in my flock. They seemed to be the flightiest of all my chicks, Whereas the other chicks got used to being handled on a daily basis and coming to me for treats, the Langshans acted like they were being murdered every time you even tried to touch them or pick them up. They were also the smallest and runtiest of the chicks and all the other chicks seemed to choose them to pick on and peck on. To keep them safe , I actually had to separate out just the Langshans to a different brooder and once they all moved out to the coop and pen I was constantly treating the Langshans wounds with "No Peck". They just seemed to get off to a slower start than the other breeds (Jersey Giants,SG Dorkings,Welsummers,Dominiques,& Buff Orpingtons). Now that they are 18 weeks old, their sizes are actually all over the place-I'm sure that has more to do with the stock I got from McMurray than the breed itself. Some of the Langshans are on the petite side, most are now in the normal range, and some are actually quite large. They have become more accustomed to being handled although none of them actually jump into my lap or use me as a roost like the Jersey Giants do.
I have now separated the pullets & roos into separate pens. Most of these 20 odd roosters are headed for freezer camp but I will keep a few to protect the hens and for breeding new stock. I sit and watch them every day trying to decide which roosters to keep. I love their regal, upright stance and they come very close to me and stand calmly and stare at me with such an intelligent look on their face, its almost like I can see the wheels turning in their brain. While they are not the most affectionate of my birds, they are very low key




and seem to have the least rooster drama. I am definately going to keep at least 2 of the Langshan roosters and all the hens. So far none of the hens have begun to lay so I can't offer any comments on egg color or quantity. I am hoping for plum eggs!!

I hope you take a photo of the eggs when you get them, love to see what they look like! Thanks for sharing your experience with them. Pretty birds!

 

[nikkers390]

I ordered blue Langshan from Sand Hill and got blacks instead. Somehow they includes a splash one. COOL. It is a cockerel. Bred to the blacks, I should get blues. 2 of the black cockerels are very large, the pullets, not so much. Either way, I love those birds. I hope to breed them next spring and see what I get.
I find it a bit frustrating to find just limited info on them. I have scanned through the Langshan thread. Some info is useful, some not. I never plan on showing, so critical stuff like eye color, comb, etc is not important to me. I am hoping to have healthy, productive chickens for broodies, eggs and meat. The fact I LOVE huge chickens is just me. I have Jersey Giants, Cochin, Brahma, Cornish and Sultaler. The bigger the better.