I now know what kind of chickens my husband brought home....lol.

[Cori64ca]

The only thing I knew about my chickens when Hubby brought them home on April 13, 2019 is that they are white, lol. He bought me 12 of them but sadly we lost one 2 days after we got them....I cried. So now I have 11 White Leghorn laying hens. I started to let them free range today during the day and they seem to like it but there was the one little girl who followed me around the yard all day, she was so cute and it surprise me because they seem so skiddish all the time and wouldn't even come out of the hen house. I think they are getting used to me now it bothers me a lot that they freak out when I open the coop in the morning or anytime of the day. Does this last long or will they eventually get over that? Or is that something I should get use to? Another thing I am wondering about is how do I train them to lay eggs in the nesting boxes that we built on the hen house? And how much feed to I give them and how many times a day? We plan to keep them year round, we live near Rocky Mountain House Alberta Canada and the winters can be extremely cold so how do I keep them in the winter and to keep laying thru the coldest months of the year? And lastly should I obtain a rooster?

 

[sylviethecochin]

Leghorns = nuts. They're great layers, and good filler birds for the flock, but if you surprise them, they might hit the wall trying to get away. Your best bet is to start singing when coming towards the coop or something, so they can hear you coming.

The older hens (3+) calm down a bit, and many take their places as boss hens of the flock. But pullets are skittish, young hens are skittish, and Leghorns do not like to be surprised.

May want to include pictures of the nest boxes. Sometimes, they're unusable for reasons that aren't obvious to people that haven't kept chickens. You can put fake eggs in there--golf balls are my weapon of choice. The girls see the fake egg, say, "oh, look. Someone else chose this for their nest spot! It must be safe!" and go for it.

I feed twice a day for twenty minutes each time. That's about the minimum, but I hate rats, so feed goes into the bowls for twenty minutes, and then any extra gets packed up. Most people free-feed.

You may have to deal with the infamous "winter dub" aka, frostbitten combs. Leghorns have huge combs, and they're just not close enough to their bodies to be kept warm very easily. Since you're at a high altitude, I imagine the air's thinner? You shouldn't have as much damp, and thus, not as many problems with frostbite. Dry cold is better than wet cold.

Good ventilation (which differs from draftiness) is key. A recommended way to do it is to put an entrance in the bottom of the wall, (NOT facing the wind) and at a right angle on the higher end of the roof, put a line of vent. The theory and goal is that the air heats up, rises, collects moisture and ammonia and all that other good stuff, diffuses up the roof and carries away moisture and gasses without blowing across your chickens.

In almost all cases, you shouldn't provide heat to grown hens. They'll probably need a higher-protein diet in fall to help them develop more feathers. A little bit of extra fat isn't a bad idea either. Check on them, keep an eye out, and maybe see if you have any neighbours with chickens who can offer advice they've found for your climate.

A light in the coop should keep them laying fairly well through the winter. DO make sure it's secured well. A lot of coops burn down due to accidents with lights, wiring, and heat bulbs.

As for the rooster, that's a personal choice. I like having a rooster or two around the place. I want fertile eggs, I want the social order that comes from having a rooster (they'll often break up fights among the hens, they call the hens for food, etc.) and I want flock protection.

The cons: Not all roosters are good at these things. Very few have problems with the fertile eggs bit. But often younger roosters (cockerels) are rapists. I don't approve. And if they learn the behaviour young, they'll often just not stop. Some roosters actually join in the bullying. Again, mostly a cockerel behaviour, but I keep roosters for a harmonious flock. Some roosters won't protect their hens. Some roosters are human-aggressive. (Huge nature vs nurture debate on that one. I'm personally of the opinion that they should be handled sparingly, should have older roosters around as a guide of how to act, and that genetics play a large part in how aggressive they are. But you'll get all sides. and frankly, this particular discussion tends to bring out the worst in BYC members.)

Roosters can be aggressive towards small children. They're little, they look funny, and they move fast, then slow--like predators. And sometimes like victims. And they'll run right at the hens. Some people have the solution of keeping their children and chickens firmly separated; some people educate their children on safe handling; some people bring out the camera and post youtube videos of their children getting flogged.

If you do decide you want a rooster, I'd actually pick up an adult rooster locally. You can get information on his temperament and see how he interacts with his ladies without taking too much of a risk. Get him from a breeder who knows what he's doing, not a backyard hobbyist who laughs at how good his rooster is at "getting the job done."

Birds like silkies and cochins are often recommended, since they aren't usually very human aggressive. Meh. I expect more out of a rooster than not being human aggressive. That's minimum requirement. That's a C.

My best bird is a Cochin/Polish cross named Phillip. He's a gentleman of the first degree. He always courts his hens before mounting. He's got good technique (very, very minimal feather damage on the OEGb hens that are something like a quarter his size. I've never seen him injure a hen) He chases off interloping cockerels and makes them behave if they want to stay. He's got no interest whatsoever in mounting pullets. He walks away if I walk toward him, but is perfectly happy to call his hens when I have corn—and he stands back and keeps watch while they eat. (Also, he's got a classic crow that sounds just like the one on the alarm clock, and funny, short little legs that look hilarious.)

My opinion is that if you can find one good game rooster, you're set for life. They do have a reputation as 'fighting roosters.' They're intelligent, they're mean, and they're protective. Which is why a bad one is probably the worst rooster you'll ever have. But they've got the best instincts for dealing with their girls, with chicks, and with threats.

 

[The Dapper Duck]

For a super plain Jane looking bird, I really love their egg production (unparalleled) and their personalities. Sounds like you are at least discovering the latter. I would call them 'flighty' but they aren't necessarily afraid. Mine were like that but they would come and run up my back when I would bend over to fill the feeder. Lots of personality.

I've never been good at measuring out feed per bird and it's dependent on weather and exercise. Leghorns are great foragers, so I would say give feed twice a day and just figure out how much is enough so that there is a little left by second feeding and some at night, but then pull the feed before bedtime so the rats don't get into it.

I would worry about those combs in the winter. I have zero experience with real winters and chickens though. I've only kept birds in the tropics and Pacific NW.

 

[cavemanrich]

11 White Leghorn laying hens..
Do you have chicks or hens that are already laying
Your chickens are not exactly cold weather tolerant compared to other chickens that peeps in Cold Canada favor. (Chantecler)
White Leghorns are known to be skittish, as well as somewhat flighty.
The more you handle them each day and cares them ,,,, the friendlier they will become.
To train the hens to lay eggs in nesting boxes, place some golf balls there so they get an IDEA where to . Artificial eggs work also, but not sure how EZ for you to get those.
Have Chicken feed available to them all day long. Also water. Remove or hide feed when they go to sleep, since they do not get up for midnite snacks. They should feed just before roost time, and go to sleep with a full crop. I always remove feed for night time to discourage predators from being attracted to feed laying around.
Make sure your coop is properly ventilated, which is very important during winter, to prevent frostbite. In your case, to minimize the frostbite occurrence. Leghorns are not the most cold hardy breed as I mentioned earlier, but should make it thru. You may need to feed them some extra carbohydrates during winter so they will generate their own body-heat better. There are peeps on opposite theories about the carbohydrates VS protein during winter. That all is up to debate. I personally favor the Carbs.
As to rooster,,,,,,,,,, you don't need one, to have eggs. If you want fertile eggs, or a rooster to act as a Sentry, then get one. There are many peeps that feel a rooster is a flock protector. That is true to a degree. A good rooster will alert flock of danger, and some will try to herd the hens to safety. There are very few cases where a rooster actually overcame/overpowered a predator.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[Cori64ca]

Thank you all for your very informative opinions. I appreciate every bit of info. So...I got my one girl who is laying to lay in the nesting box by placing her inside yesterday morning when she was ready to lay and to my very happy surprise she laid her egg in that same nesting box this morning, so that was pretty easy. Today April 27th 2019 here in Alberta Canada is like winter, blizarding and very windy, we have about 4 inches of snow with a forecast of snow straight through in til tomorrow and up to 20 cm of snow yet to come. So my husband and I went in and insulated the whole hen house today. they weren't very happy to begin with but being in there with them for 7 hours they seemed to okay after a bit especially when they figure out that it wasn't so cold in there any more. Crazy ducks, lmao.

 

[Cori64ca]

not entirely sure why so many repeats of the same picture but I do apologize for that . Anyway just a few shots to see nesting boxes a pic b4 insulating and after.

 

[Cori64ca]

They were all chicks when we got them but I didn't know that and was very upset that they weren't laying eggs. So I started to do some research on chickens and found out that if they're cones and waddles were pink then they were just babies. Bright red cones and waddles= layers, now that I know that I can watch them carefully for when they are close to laying and right now I have 4 that are bright red but only one of the 4 is laying. Like I said my husband purchased our girls from a local farmer who told my husband that they were laying already guess that farmer doesn't know what she is talking about, lol. Oh well.

 

[Cori64ca]

Wondering if that window is enough ventilation?

 

[CindyinSD]

What’s your usual low in winter? We were down into the -20s regularly this past winter and my single comb breeds had a tiny bit of frostbite. Nothing disfiguring, and it did not appear to cause significant discomfort. You can coat the combs with petroleum jelly to help protect them.

I had a heat lamp in the 10 x 12’ coop with deep bedding. The ventilation is really vital, especially if you’re gonna do insulation and vapor barriers, etc. A good-sized herd of birds produces a heckuva lot of moisture which will exacerbate the effects of the cold. I have vents at the top of the gable ends and the coop (converted metal tool shed) is absolutely not air-tight.

I feed free choice all day and remove the feeder and any remaining food when I close up the coop at night. I don’t remove the water, but many folks do.