Excellent experience with Murray McMurray Hatchery

[KF0002]

Ok so update! We kept one leghorn from the order, and omg she is an absolute SWEETHEART! Her and the Cream Legbar willingly walk into my hand, and the leghorn just goes to sleep on me. I put her back in the brooder when they start piling up for bed, and she stays on my hand instead. I'm thinking of calling her Foggy, like Foghorn Leghorn lol.

Well I'm glad your Leghorn is taming down easily. Any chicken can be socialized and tamed if you handle them enough. She has likely imprinted on you, which is a good thing. She won't have any fear of you.

 

[afarhat]

Just curious, I have white leghorns in the order, and haven’t decided which breeds we are keeping yet (also splitting). How has their temperament been? I prefer not to have chicks that run away from me while cleaning and “freak out” per say….so flighty drives me crazy lol. But I really wanted to keep at least one of them!

This brings up an interesting point that isn't discussed much. Leghorns are a specific breed that all share the same characteristics, but within the breed (whether it's leghorns or any other breed) there are strains. A strain is within the breed, and will have descended from one flock of a certain breed. Strains of leghorn may all look like leghorns, but will have different characteristics, one of which is temperament. So while one strain of leghorn may be flightly enough to drive you crazy, those from another strain may be as docile as a dual purpose breed.

 

[KF0002]

This brings up an interesting point that isn't discussed much. Leghorns are a specific breed that all share the same characteristics, but within the breed (whether it's leghorns or any other breed) there are strains. A strain is within the breed, and will have descended from one flock of a certain breed. Strains of leghorn may all look like leghorns, but will have different characteristics, one of which is temperament. So while one strain of leghorn may be flightly enough to drive you crazy, those from another strain may be as docile as a dual purpose breed.

This is correct. And exhibition lines or strains of Leghorns tend to be less flighty and spastic than some hatchery lines that are more haphazardly bred (not much selective mating due to flock/group mating in hatcheries). There are many bloodlines and strains of every breed of chicken, and they can vary a great deal from breeder to breeder. While I wouldn't consider a Leghorn a true dual-purpose bird because they are quite lean and smaller in body size, we have butchered Leghorn roosters and they have a decent amount of meat on them. Not as much as a true dual-purpose breed like a Rock, Orpington, RIR, etc. but a fair amount. Leghorns are classified for use as egg layers, as their laying ability is unmatched. And their smaller size yields a lower feed to egg conversion ratio, which is why White Leghorns reign supreme in commercial egg farms.

 

[KF0002]

@Iluveggers I wanted to share on here how friendly my first crop of winter Leghorn chicks I hatched are! The white leghorn chicks I am hatching this winter are actually the offspring of the White Leghorns I received from MM in June! Since I brooded them indoors for like 2 weeks, they were so tame and would run to my hand when I opened the brooder because I spent more time with them than I usually do with chicks since they were in the house so long. They are still just as tame now that they are growing out in the brooder building. On the other hand, the chicks from the second and third hatch are all wild because I haven't handled them hardly at all. So Leghorns can definitely be socialized. lol I posted pictures of them on The Moonshiner's Leghorn thread.