Do Leghorns Really Eat Less?

[ChookieG]

Hey guys just wondering whether anyone of you have any experience with leghorns? I know they're flighty but I also heard they're great egg layers and most importantly... eat less feed compared to other breeds. Is that true? If so, how much less do you reckon? Thanks!

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

Never looked much into leghorns.... TILL RECENTLY!!!!!!! Some breeder not to far from me breeds em. And IV seen em at local farmers markets before but didn't get em there kinda big for hens, bigger then Isa Browns, I'll get em soon I reckon to add to the flock about five of em I reckon, have also heard they eat less just yesterday. Wonder what others r gonna say, interested.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Hey guys just wondering whether anyone of you have any experience with leghorns? I know they're flighty but I also heard they're great egg layers and most importantly... eat less feed compared to other breeds.

I've never had any Leghorns, but have read that they eat about a quarter to a third less feed than a dual purpose breed.
As far as laying eggs, the White Leghorns bred for production are prolific, other Leghorn varieties, less so.
Many Hatchery websites will say how many eggs you can expect from the different varieties. GC

 

[ChookieG]

Hey guys just wondering whether anyone of you have any experience with leghorns? I know they're flighty but I also heard they're great egg layers and most importantly... eat less feed compared to other breeds. Is that true? If so, how much less do you reckon? Thanks!

@Chookwagn I know you keep Leghorns.. care to comment?

 

[Aapomp831]

Hey guys just wondering whether anyone of you have any experience with leghorns? I know they're flighty but I also heard they're great egg layers and most importantly... eat less feed compared to other breeds. Is that true? If so, how much less do you reckon? Thanks!

Yes - they are great birds. Smaller than most breeds (way smaller than golden comets), so they naturally eat less and are more aware of their surroundings than my other birds. They’re not loving, cuddly chickens due to being so damn neurotic, but they calm down as they mature. They lay PROLIFICALLY, and their eggs can range from normal size to freakin’ huge.

 

[3KillerBs]

Commercial Leghorn strains are most definitely bred to consume less food for the number of eggs they produce. I don't know about heritage strains and I don't know how much that difference shows up in a small, backyard flock.

 

[Chookwagn]

@Chookwagn I know you keep Leghorns.. care to comment?

Thanks for the tag

I haven't had a lot of other breeds to compare them with and I haven't done technical analysis on exactly how much they eat either... but in saying that I have had a flock of 10 ISA browns and they motored through feed.... and didn't exactly lay that many more eggs than Leghorns....

My white Leghorn hens would be approx the same weight as my ISA brown hens (just a completely different shape).... Yes they are a little flighty but they are also very curious and quite friendly. mine will eat from my hand but dont really like being touched....

I would have Leghorns any day over any commercial hybrid birds.... they are clean, tidy looking, not nasty, great layers, not food hogs, etc

This is just my experience so far...

Hope this is of some help

 

[ChookieG]

Thanks for the tag

I haven't had a lot of other breeds to compare them with and I haven't done technical analysis on exactly how much they eat either... but in saying that I have had a flock of 10 ISA browns and they motored through feed.... and didn't exactly lay that many more eggs than Leghorns....

My white Leghorn hens would be approx the same weight as my ISA brown hens (just a completely different shape).... Yes they are a little flighty but they are also very curious and quite friendly. mine will eat from my hand but dont really like being touched....

I would have Leghorns any day over any commercial hybrid birds.... they are clean, tidy looking, not nasty, great layers, not food hogs, etc

This is just my experience so far...

Hope this is of some help

Thanks for responding bro! Glad to hear from you again!

You make them sound like the perfect role model chicken! My hens, especially the big fat one, eats like there's no tomorrow. She's also an irregular layer sometimes going for 2 days without laying. As this is my first time keeping chickens, I didn't know much about them so I just bought what was available locally. The big fat one is a Rhode Island Red x Australorp. She's probably a good 3-4 kg (6 - 8 lbs) as I need some muscle flexing to catch and lift her as she's so strong and chunky. Good as a meat bird but I'm only rearing for eggs. The rest are also large Australorp crosses and they went through a 20 kg (44 lb) bag of feed in 1.5 months! My hens don't like to be touched either.

I've been having my fair share of problems with them with disease after disease. If all hens were having issues like me it'll scare away anyone from rearing chickens. I'm pretty sure it's not me as I recently bought a Roo and he hasn't presented any sickness so far (*fingers crossed!*). The Roo was purchased from a separate local breeder so I reckon it must be the hen breeder I bought from.

Anyway you're probably getting bored reading all that. There's a commercial breeder that takes orders from various local feed stores around the central west region and then delivers hens to them where customers will pick them up from. They sell Isa Browns and I thought maybe they were as good as Leghorns until I read your post. They've also started selling Leghorns but are unfortunately crossed with Australorp and I don't want another food hogger.

Guess I'll just have to keep a lookout for pure white Leghorns in the future. Thanks again and take care!

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

It seem a lot of breeders cross things with Australorps. @Alkara Iv got a few Isa Browns there good for eggs, they just eat a average/normal amount but its not super lots, but they r out all day free ranging too on the farm, the Australorp crosses I have lay smaller eggs then the Isa Browns but still lay an egg a day, they are cross with new Hampshire hen. Leghorns and Isa Browns seem bit better then Australorp crosses in that regard but however... If Ur in a colder area the leghorns have very big combs that apparently can be prone to frost bite a bit more then others. Australorps do great in the cold, they are also more friendly then Isa Browns though I have one very friendly Isa brown but she is on-top of the pecking order besides the rooster.

 

[Chookwagn]

Thanks for responding bro! Glad to hear from you again!

You make them sound like the perfect role model chicken! My hens, especially the big fat one, eats like there's no tomorrow. She's also an irregular layer sometimes going for 2 days without laying. As this is my first time keeping chickens, I didn't know much about them so I just bought what was available locally. The big fat one is a Rhode Island Red x Australorp. She's probably a good 3-4 kg (6 - 8 lbs) as I need some muscle flexing to catch and lift her as she's so strong and chunky. Good as a meat bird but I'm only rearing for eggs. The rest are also large Australorp crosses and they went through a 20 kg (44 lb) bag of feed in 1.5 months! My hens don't like to be touched either.

I've been having my fair share of problems with them with disease after disease. If all hens were having issues like me it'll scare away anyone from rearing chickens. I'm pretty sure it's not me as I recently bought a Roo and he hasn't presented any sickness so far (*fingers crossed!*). The Roo was purchased from a separate local breeder so I reckon it must be the hen breeder I bought from.

Anyway you're probably getting bored reading all that. There's a commercial breeder that takes orders from various local feed stores around the central west region and then delivers hens to them where customers will pick them up from. They sell Isa Browns and I thought maybe they were as good as Leghorns until I read your post. They've also started selling Leghorns but are unfortunately crossed with Australorp and I don't want another food hogger.

Guess I'll just have to keep a lookout for pure white Leghorns in the future. Thanks again and take care!

No problem at all

Leghorns are the best! ( I could be a little biased )

I find the Leghorns the best "hands off" breed.... by "Hands off" I mean they arent very good lap chickens or very good around kids that want to pick them up all the time.

If you are only rearing for eggs I would def recommend a hybrid or Leghorns