How many chicks will you hatch in 2026?

[2ndTink]

Not sure but my freezer needs filling so

This is a good reason.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I haven't had any leghorns, but they door have huge combs. Have you looked into small combed white egg layers? (If there are any )

Leghorns come in rose comb varieties as well. Hamburgs also lay white and have rose combs, though they tend to be pretty flighty from my understanding. Sumatras have very small pea combs and Spitzhaubens have a V-comb, both white eggers. There's also Polish and Sultans with V-combs, though their huge crests can be problematic... There are other breeds, I'm sure, but those are the most readily available from hatcheries off the top of my head. Leghorns are the standard for production, though, as Echelontheory points out.

I wonder what an Ameraucana x Leghorn would produce for egg color?

It produces like a sky blue egg color because my blue splash ameraucana has two blue genes and the Leghorn is a white gene so the blue will take over but the white will add a tint to it so it'll be like a nice sky blue! There are some cushion and rose combed white egg layers but they're expensive and not as good of producers so I think I'm going to stick with my Ameraucana and exchequer Leghorn cross since the pea comb is dominant so the crosses will have pea just not white eggs anymore haha but in a perfect world it would be a high producer sky blue layer with a pea comb if that cross would go well!

Yeah, the blue egg gene acts as a partial dominant. Two copies, O/O, tends to make a deeper blue color than split, O/o+, which generally makes a paler blue shell. There are other genes that can impact this as well, such as the zinc white gene that many lines of Leghorns carry, which can make that blue shade even paler.

Pea comb is also a partial dominant, so P/P makes smaller, tighter to the head pea combs, while P/p+ splits tend to make taller, thinner pea combs, somewhat like an in-between of pea and single combs. The gene also impacts the size of the wattles, with P/P homozygous individuals generally having smaller wattles than P/p+ heterozygous individuals or p+/p+ individuals lacking the gene entirely.

 

[ABQ chicken keeper]

Depends on if and when I get a double hip replacement .....

UHOOO OUCH ... OUCH ... OUCH ... OUCH !!!!!!
Do you have someone to help you out with chicken chores?????

 

[2ndTink]

Leghorns come in rose comb varieties as well.

I read this, went off to Google rose comb leghorns and never made it back If I had ever seen or read about these before, I can't remember

Yeah, the blue egg gene acts as a partial dominant. Two copies, O/O, tends to make a deeper blue color than split, O/o+, which generally makes a paler blue shell. There are other genes that can impact this as well, such as the zinc white gene that many lines of Leghorns carry, which can make that blue shade even paler.

And now I need someone to cross a rose comb leghorn with an Ameraucana and send me eggs to hatch please

 

[JenniMcChick]

My broodies have yet to communicate me their 2026 breeding plan.

Same! But I'm pretty sure all of them but the Production Blue have plans. So 5 x ???

Although since I've decided to make my life easier & just let whoever wants to sit do so this year since we now have a rooster, and have an actual plan in place for all the resulting chicks, they may all decide that it's just not fun that way & not go broody. Only time will tell.

 

[JenniMcChick]

Well I just ordered 14 hatching eggs this morning so looks like I’ll start with that! I ordered salmon faverolle, chantecler, lavender astrolorp and one lone Hmong egg!

I have one young rooster, so I’ll also incubate some of my own eggs later in the spring and also let my broodys sit on a few eggs as well. My rooster is a svart hona so I’m super curious to see those mixes! Then I might get some more silverudd eggs later in the spring as well!

Had no idea Australorps were now available in lavender! I'm going to have to look that up!
Good luck with all your eggs!

 

[Iluveggers]

Setting some eggs before Easter. We have a Buttercup rooster who is a very good boy, so I’m curious to see what offspring will come from him and my mixed hens!

Going to do a small hatch in May w my students. The kids love the chicks and caring for them for the week or two after!

Then probably one last hatch after if chick sales near me are still going strong.

 

[2ndTink]

Same! But I'm pretty sure all of them but the Production Blue have plans. So 5 x ???

Although since I've decided to make my life easier & just let whoever wants to sit do so this year since we now have a rooster, and have an actual plan in place for all the resulting chicks, they may all decide that it's just not fun that way & not go broody. Only time will tell.

This is 100% possible

Shoot now we need a broody gamble thread, call it the Cluckingham Casino

 

[AmericanDwarfChicken]

Ordering some Exhibition type RIR from cackle this year! I’m planning on helping conserve the true RIR line and maybe even showing them next year if I get good birds.

 

[2ndTink]

Setting some eggs before Easter. We have a Buttercup rooster who is a very good boy, so I’m curious to see what offspring will come from him and my mixed hens!

Going to do a small hatch in May w my students. The kids love the chicks and caring for them for the week or two after!

Then probably one last hatch after if chick sales near me are still going strong.

@tviss711 has a hatch-a-long going for the hatch they are doing in class!

I think this is so awesome, so many kids would never otherwise have an opportunity to see how an egg develops and a chick pops out.