Hybrid/Pure Leghorns

[alwaysthere4chickens]

I thought that Leghorns were a pure breed but then I find that they are Hybrids? Are they Pure or Hybrid, I'm confused. @The Moonshiner

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Leghorns are an old pure breed from Italy. Developed in the early 1800s, they were so productive many companies used them to create modern commercial egg hybrids.

 

[nuthatched]

Leghorns are a real breed, they may be derived from something else but not for a hundred years. Where'd you hear this?

 

[The Moonshiner]

They're a breed so yes pure.
Hatcheries do use them to produce a couple hybrids but those hybrids aren't referred to as leghorns or at least shouldn't be.
Hatcheries also have their own specialized lines of leghorns that they've spent decades on developing. They're leghorns but have been very specifically bred towards production instead of the breed standard.

 

[alwaysthere4chickens]

Leghorns are a real breed, they may be derived from something else but not for a hundred years. Where'd you hear this?

This is one of the places where I've heard this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/vote-for-the-best-hybrid-layer.1279022/page-2

 

[nuthatched]

This is one of the places where I've heard this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/vote-for-the-best-hybrid-layer.1279022/page-2

Selective breeding isn't the same as hybrid.
Hybrid is two parents of 2 different breeds. R2elk is correct.

 

[alwaysthere4chickens]

Here too...evanschickens.com.au/leghorn-hybrids/

 

[The Moonshiner]

This is one of the places where I've heard this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/vote-for-the-best-hybrid-layer.1279022/page-2

The member that started that thread is from Greece. He deals with birds from a company that specializes in very high production birds. I believe their leghorns are what you would call pure but yes developed over decades with nothing but the highest production and best feed conversion in mind.
They have different lines that are crossed but they all are leghorns.
I believe they call them hybrids as a marketing tool because over there it is thought that no pure bred can come close to producing what their hybrids can.

 

[alwaysthere4chickens]

And The happy chicken coop said that it was crossed with another breed? Is a crossbreed a hybrid?

"The English did not like the small body of the Leghorn and so crossed it with the Minorca to give a more robust frame – more like a dual purpose breed. Despite this the Leghorn remains a thin bird, not really suitable as table fare at all.

These crosses eventually made their way back to the US where the larger size made it more acceptable to the budding poultry industry around 1910."

 

[The Moonshiner]

And The happy chicken coop said that it was crossed with another breed? Is a crossbreed a hybrid?

"The English did not like the small body of the Leghorn and so crossed it with the Minorca to give a more robust frame – more like a dual purpose breed. Despite this the Leghorn remains a thin bird, not really suitable as table fare at all.

These crosses eventually made their way back to the US where the larger size made it more acceptable to the budding poultry industry around 1910."

Now you're talking about over 100 years ago when different breeds where being brought in bred and developed into different countries. Back when the standards where being written.
Searching the internet can supply anyone with info stating any view they want to believe in. If you want to believe they're hybrids you can find sites that will agree with that. If you want to believe they're a true breed its real simple to find places that agree.
I'll leave it to you to find your belief now. This is turning into what seems like a debunking thread.