Do pure Leghorns ever throw up odd colour feathers?

[draye]

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Yeah, I know they're nothing fancy. Just second (third? fourth?) rate birds from a local utility flock. They'll never make it anywhere near a show pen but I'm not into that side of chickening so their overall poor breeding doesn't really bother me. But the poorly bred flock they came from is 100% pure white which is why I found the odd colour speckles interesting. I was wondering if the different colours always breed true or if you get an odd chick of a different colour popping up here and there. I suppose you do, cause that's how Exchequer Leghorns got started...

If they're both girls I'd be delighted. I can't remember exactly and I can't find last year's diary to check, but I think they're about 20-22 weeks old. They're not quite full size yet. Thanks for your info!

You're like me in that aspect, don't care if they totally conform to SOP, just as long as they look mostly like what they are suppose to and lay eggs. That what chickens are meant for anyway, eggs (for eating and hatching more chickens), and meat for the table.

 

[Gypsy07]

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Well, I got my Leggies for free so I'm not going to be too fussy - I was rehoming them mostly as a charitable act to save them from the stewpot! I also got three big fat Cuckoo Marans with horribly deformed feet and they've been the biggest duds ever. One egg a week from all three of them if I'm lucky! But the Leggies have been fabulously productive and they lay the biggest eggs ever so I'm very happy with them and not bothered if they're a bit rubbish looking.

I suppose it all depends what you want your birds for. I also keep a few Marsh Daisies and I'm very fussy about what they look like cause they're rare and there's a breeder's group in the UK trying to re-establish them and breeding from crap ones really doesn't help things. So I suppose if I saw a photo of a really poor one online I would probably try to diplomatically point out its faults. But for backyard hobby hens, it really doesn't matter.

I've seen a lot of bickering on some forums where people with different chickening aims compare show birds and utility birds and get a bit rude about each others' birds sometimes. Like, saying utility birds are rubbish cause they don't look as good as show birds, or saying show birds are rubbish cause they're just bred for looks and hardly lay any eggs. IMO it's like comparing apples and elephants, two totally different things...

 

[Gypsy07]

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You were right, they are both girls, and both now laying steadily. Great result!
Just popped back to this thread to give feedback on your assessment. Thanks again.

 

[tadkerson]

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Leghorns should have a yellow beak and yellow shanks when they reach sexually maturity. If the birds had white shanks when they began to lay eggs, then they are hybrids. I do not think a person can say if the birds are poorly bred. If the birds are bred for egg production- who cares about the color as long as they produce eggs. One could say show birds are poorly bred also- they are normally poor egg producers and even poorer meat producers.

I guess it depends on a persons perspective- egg production vs meat production vs show quality.


Tim

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

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[Gypsy07]

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Hi Tim, and thanks for the further info. They do now still have rather pinkish shanks. Definitely nowhere near yellow anyway. Apart from that they are very Leghorn-y though. Small and skinny, huge floppy combs, very skittish and flighty, fabulous layers. The single dark feather is no longer there and both birds are pure white all over. I thought they were just Leghorns bred (as you say) for maximum egg production and not for looks. I didn't think they could be hybrids. They came out of my own birds, who came from a local farmer who told me Leghorn. And apart from the one dark feather, they bred true.

P.S. Thank you for your views on good breeding. I really do agree totally. I appreciate the beauty of excellent show birds, but I don't think they're the be-all-and-end-all of chickens. They're pretty, but looks aren't everything!

 

[tadkerson]

Leghorns do carry a recessive sex linked gene for white shank color. It could be that the birds carry the trait. The father would be a carrier of the trait. He does not have to express the trait but can carry the gene. If you have hatched other chicks ( large numbers) from this father it would have shown up. If you only hatch a few chicks at a time it may not have shown up until now.

It also could be a mutation that has appeared in your flock. If you cross the birds, it would be interesting to see what happens.

Back crossing the females to their father should produce (hatch 10 or more) some males with white shanks and females with white shanks if the condition is caused by a recessive sex linked gene.



Tim

 

[Gypsy07]

Wow, more info. This is so interesting.

Much as I would love to back cross these girls to their father and see what resulted, I'm afraid I can't as I don't have him and I never did. My original old Leghorns were being retired from a local farmer's breeding pens, and I was given three hens. They came to me straight from the pens, so I knew they hadn't been mated by any other roosters. I just took my chances on getting some more birds for free and incubated the first few eggs they laid in their quarantine pen. These two pullets were the result of that.

Anyway I somehow think it's more likely to be a case of breeding for egg numbers over physical features than a recessive white shank gene as the farm where they originated is definitely not breeding 'fancy' birds and probably wouldn't know or care that his Leghorns had the wrong colour legs. Until I was told on this thread, I didn't know it either! The three old Leghorns I was given all had pink legs, and I suspect the rooster probably did too.

I suppose it could be, like you say, a mutation that has appeared. I'd be interested in looking more closely at that, but at the moment I'm concentrating on another breed, so I don't know when I'll have the time or the space to deal with another rooster and more chicks! I'm keeping the pullets though, so might do something with them in the future.

Again, thanks for the information

 

[N.WChickenGuy]

Hello everyone I have a question for the folks from Glasgow, I am thinking about moving there with my wife who is from there but I really love my birds and want to contine breeding serama when we move there. so my Question for you is what are the rules regarding cockreals ( little quite ones ) ? Are there any areas of Glasgow that are better than others for breeding poultry? perhaps some place on the outskirts. Thanks
Daniel.

 

[Chris09]

To through wrench in the works,

They could be a Minorca or a Minorca /Leghorn cross. That would account for the White Legs and Beak.

Wow, Just saw this was brought back from the dead and this was from March.

Chris