Exchequer LEGHORNS

[qball53]

leghorns lay 260-280 eggs a year

From what we have seen with the Exchequer Leghorns they are not going to lay anywhere near that number. Our easter eggers continue to be our most prolific layers in all conditions.

 

[FuzzyButtz]

I'm adding 3 1.5 YR/Old Echequer's to my flock.. excited - they're so beautiful!

 

[FuzzyButtz]

Well I only brought one Exchequer hen home instead of 3, but here she is.

 

[maralpz2006]

she is so pretty

 

[muscovy94]

In my opinion, exchequer leghorns are the prettiest laying breed overall. Would love to have a couple. Wonder if they come in bantams?

 

[nicalandia]

Quote:
exchequer leghorns shoul be more white than they are black. nice drawing

and show birds from Europe Male

Female..

 

[FuzzyButtz]

Interesting.. good thing I just have mine for eggs! I had 3 to choose from and I chose the darkest, lol! I personally prefer black to white though, so that's probably why I was drawn to her the most!

 

[nicalandia]

Quote:
well the name of the pattern you are referring to is plain old Mottled, here Mottled Ancona, which look similar to leghorns...

http://www.chickenforum.com/images/4/4/4/ancona-rooster.jpg

 

[Freeholder]

I ended up with some Exchequers several years ago -- they came with my order of Mille Fleur Leghorns from Sand Hill. Since I only wanted the Mille Fleur's, I gave the Exchequers to a friend, and they laid very well for her for at least a couple of years.

Kathleen

 

[Sylvester017]

At one time Sandhill Preservation had listed their layers in a top 100 laying breeds listing & this is where they placed their Leghorns:

White Leghorn (LG-XL) & Barred Rocks (LG-XL) were not even on the list because they were off the charts because of their great productivity.

PRODUCTIVITY RANKING:
Ameraucanas (not EEs) #3 blue large-XL eggs (IMO EEs probably would rank just as well depending on the breeder origins)
Spangled Russian Orloff #5 large eggs but productivity dropped the 2nd year whereas Ameraucanas were much better in 2nd year
Buff Leghorn #10 tinted/white medium egg - my exp is a milder temperament than regular White Legs but both varieties were smart & trainable w/ simple voice/hand commands, alert birds
Exchequer Leghorn #26 white large egg
Ancona #27 white med-large egg
Dominique #29 brown medium egg (IMO a good temperament & more of a pet than a Leg would be although our Legs would sit on our arm or knee to get treats but didn't allow petting)
Brown Leghorn #36 white large-XL egg
Red Leghorn #59 tinted large egg w/ nice temperament for a Leghorn (Sandhill's comment)
Black Leghorn #75 tinted large egg
Mille Fleur Leghorn - no ranking yet - off-white egg w/ milder temperament than regular White Legs

Because I wanted to get away from White Legs w/ their high mortality from over-production (45% die of ovarian issues by age 4) so I took Sandhill's productivity listing to search for other Leg varieties and settled on the Buff which is still productive but lays a more normal size egg for its body weight. I was ecstatic to get a breeder who got their parent stock from Dan Honour who is a decades-long developer of both Buff breeds and Leghorns. Since I acquired my Buffs he says he has developed his Buff Leg line to lay white rather than tinted eggs now.

The above statistics are from Sandhill's lines of Leghorns. I personally have had the White Leg & the Buff Leg from different breeders - both varieties are prolific layers but my Buff lays 1.75 oz eggs & the White lays 2.25 oz - both are equally frequent layers. Personally I prefer a medium LF like the Leghorn breed to give me smaller rather than larger eggs. I will discontinue White Legs because they have a high incidence of ovarian cancer/tumors (Legs used often in cancer research because of this problem) because they are way too prolific of LG to XL eggs - they don't brood & they lay way too large an egg for such a light breed. I prefer a brooding breed to give them a rest from over-production. Some breeders say it's ok for a lighter hen to lay larger eggs if the bird's build is wider, but still it takes a lot out of a light 4.5 lb breed to crank out XL eggs. I'll stick w/ my medium egg 4.5 lb Buff Leg who is productive but w/ eggs more fitting for her weight & size. I've experienced a less thicker shell on the White Leg eggs compared to the solid shell of the Buff Leg & I'm thinking it's because the White has such a huge egg surface to cover w/ calcium compared to the smaller egg surface of the Buff's eggs to cover w/ calcium. Just thinking out loud & passing along what I observed from my own birds.

At one time I considered the Exchequer because of her beauty - I like both the darker hens and the whiter hens because feathering seems to change after every moult. Some say the Exchequer can get whiter after her 1st moult. However, I think I have found my newest Leghorn love - the Buff - who has a smaller less floppy comb & therefore less restrictive vision which IMO makes her less skittish. And OH! the beautiful golden Buff of her feathers! Everything on our girl is Buff - her eyes, her earlobes, her leg/toes, & even her toenails! The only thing red is her medium comb/wattles - she is a beautiful Golden treasure!