My apologies to the leghorn lovers, but of all my chickens, my 2 leghorns are the flightiest. And they make my other birds flighty too. My DH suggested freezer camp for them, but honestly, they're so small, they wouldn't be worth it. Part of me thinks I should hang onto the little idiots. The other part of me thinks maybe I should put them up for sale. None of my birds are laying yet, so they would be useful birds for someone. I don't know what to do.
Leghorns are also WAY too common. Help save the less common breeds! They may be egg-laying machines but they almost never go broody and aren't good for meat.
They're just flighty birds, but they (and your other girls too) should settle down a bit when they start to lay. They're great layers though so maybe that will help offset their skittish behaviour once you start getting eggs from them.
My leghorn was flighty. There was nothing wrong with her a little wing clippin' couldn't fix. She's all better now. Still the most rambunctious of my flock, but I say... I say, I say she ain't gettin' over that thar fence, boy I tell you what! (doing my best Foghorn Leghorn impression) Maybe try clipping their wings. It does not harm the bird, and you wouldn't have to get rid of them. And they're prolific layers!
Mine started out really flighty, I hated them too! They roosted in trees, flew over the fence and couldn't get back, etc. so I clipped BOTH wings (coz they still flew with one ) They figured out how to flap/climb up my deck railing so I had to cover it in chicken wire... lol Little BOOGERS they are!!! But they eventually turned into big mushy pets. They follow me around the yard in hopes that I will turn over a log or something so they can get the bugs that scurry, and they constantly get under my feet now where once they used to act like I was trying to kill them. They still aren't my favorite, but I don't hate them anymore. They'll come around the more time you spend with them, especially after they start laying. Leghorn roosters now, that's something I could live without. Scrawny boogers ain't good for much eats!
Quote:Yep, their wings are clipped. One night when I got home late while the chicks were in the other pen without the top, I found one of the wing-clipped leghorns asleep on top of the six foot pen. I just don't know. If they continue to be idiots, I'm going to put them up for sale and get some more interesting birds. Right now leading my list is some interesting breed like Barnevelders. I have a line on Marans here in Montana that I may just replace the two with once they're available. So far, of all the chicks I have, I have to admit I like the EEs and BOs the best. The BRs, BSLs, GSLs, and RIRs are all pretty cool birds too. Leghorns, even brown ones, are just not my favorites. Back when my mom was alive, she refused to eat eggs unless they were white. Seriously. She thought brown eggs tasted differently and she used to tell me if I got chickens, I needed to get white egg layers. I thought the whole idea was crazy. Now, I know it is.
leghorns are very flighty. of the 3 i have/had, only one lets me pet it and pick it up, and if i hold that one longer than 5 seconds it starts to get fidgety. I now only have 2, and 6 days a week i get 1 egg from each of them, and the other day i only get 1 white egg.
Leghorns are one of my favorite most dependable egg layers. I dont have any right now, but I've had them in the past. It' amazing how such a small creature can produce a nice large edible egg practically each day (sometimes 2 eggs) in their lives. They can handle the hot summers with no problem and continue to lay when others have stopped laying. They are superb foragers and very rarily get bumblefoot and eat less feed than other chickens. Yes, I had to trim their wings back just like on my Hamburgs. But those eggs.....you cant beat the quantity they produce and they taste good too!
