Langshan Thread!!!

[BGMatt]

For some reason quote doesn't work for me right now. Anyway, I only had a few take that long and they were late hatches without supplemental lighting over winter.

I think too many breeders have forgotten to focus on the production aspects of the bird and are under the false impression that overall size is linked to slow growth. If you're just raising for show it doesn't matter how slow it grows. While I do show my birds and indeed that's the main reason I have poultry, I believe if they don't perform as they should then they aren't good examples of the breed, it's lazy breeding.

Some of it is also likely due to the other two breeds in the class, the Brahma and Cochin being so slow developing, which is fine, those birds weren't meant to be dual purpose farm fowl, they were roasters, meat replacements for the turkey and are heavier birds than the Langshan.

I'm not saying they should be super quick to be fully mature, leave that to the hatchery mutts, but the pullets should be laying between 20-24 weeks, and the cockerels should be a decent meal around the 24 week mark. Langshans were a dual purpose farm fowl, think Rhode Island Red or Plymouth Rock, and should be similar (or superior) in growth and production.

I'll get off my soapbox, but really something I strongly believe, not just breeding birds to the Standard (because otherwise you just have mutts), but making them earn their keep.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I was given this chick about three weeks ago. The people who gave it to me found it wandering in their parking lot. They sell chicks, but this one was not one if them.
I call it Chicky, and think its probably a roo.
I thing it might be a langshan. What do you think?

Hello and welcome to the thread! I don't believe this bird is a Langshan. Langshans have white skin (dominant trait) and your little guy (yes a cockerel) has yellow. You can see this by the skin color around the eye as well as looking at the bottom of his feet. I believe this may be a Cochin or Cochin mix.

 

[turnipsmom]

Omg!!

we're lucky he has a home to go to when he starts using his voice. He's a really gentle boy.

 

[PetRock]

This hatch has been the craziest one that I have ever had. Loaded 15 eggs in my Brinsea and all 15 developed. I have 14 chicks running around in the brooder! The first pip happened a few hours before Day 21. 11 chicks hatched between Day 21 and 22. 3 more hatched between Day 22 and Day 23. At Day 18, I discovered that 1 of the eggs was upside down. That chick even hatched! 1 egg left and I candled it last night but wasn't sure if I saw movement or not. I decided to leave it in the incubator until this evening. A little while ago, I noticed that it has a pip in it! If it hatches, this will be my first 100% hatch! I was thinking about adjusting the temp up slightly but maybe I shouldn't mess with a good thing!

My first Langshan chick of the year:



And yes, I loaded dirty eggs in the incubator. I've gone back and forth on whether to wash or not. I've done both and compared hatches but haven't seen any great difference.

 

[PetRock]

He doesn't run forward but he's not afraid also and he's kind of curious. How is the Langshan rooster temperament in your experiences ?
I know they can be all different..but just a question.

I love my Langshan roosters! They have all been gentle giants! A few years ago, I hatched 3 black cockerels from shipped eggs. They were mean to the other chicks and to people. I was thinking about keeping one of them but on processing day, they acted up and one even drew blood. I quickly decided that I didn’t want attitudes like that in my breeding flock!

 

[Justso]

Good day, I just picked up my three langshan chicks this week! Very excited to see how things progress.
I have two blue and a splash.

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

Welcome to Langshans! Waffles is a cute name. They are not a flighty breed. If you’re handling her a lot, she will probably be pretty tame. I’d say they are more cold tolerant than heat tolerant. I’ve had a few juveniles that died from heat when it got up in the 90s. So make sure they have shade they can go in and cool water when it gets hot out.

I raise all my chicks outside, but if I were raising them in the house, they would get moved to a larger brooder in the garage or the coop or somewhere at about two weeks. Then once they get all their feathers, maybe around 4 weeks or so, they would get acclimated to having no heat. Then meet the flock with a barrier, and after a week (or less) open the barrier so they can mingle.

That’s how I used to do it when I used heat lamps. Now I use Mama Heating Pads, and brood chicks in an under-the-roost pen. I don’t necessarily wait for full feathers any more before opening their pen. I play it by ear and if they get picked on too badly, I close up their pen again longer.

Have fun with your chicks, and don’t forget to come back and post more photos as they grow!

Thanks for your response. I also brood all of my chicks outside

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

I hope waffles does ok because I live in Tx and it can get up to 100 degrees on super hot days but recently it’s been cold so I hope when it gets hot she stays healthy and happy, again thanks for the response, I’ll keep you posted, might not post many pictures for a few weeks because alots going on, I’ll try though.

Welcome to Langshans! Waffles is a cute name. They are not a flighty breed. If you’re handling her a lot, she will probably be pretty tame. I’d say they are more cold tolerant than heat tolerant. I’ve had a few juveniles that died from heat when it got up in the 90s. So make sure they have shade they can go in and cool water when it gets hot out.

I raise all my chicks outside, but if I were raising them in the house, they would get moved to a larger brooder in the garage or the coop or somewhere at about two weeks. Then once they get all their feathers, maybe around 4 weeks or so, they would get acclimated to having no heat. Then meet the flock with a barrier, and after a week (or less) open the barrier so they can mingle.

That’s how I used to do it when I used heat lamps. Now I use Mama Heating Pads, and brood chicks in an under-the-roost pen. I don’t necessarily wait for full feathers any more before opening their pen. I play it by ear and if they get picked on too badly, I close up their pen again longer.

Have fun with your chicks, and don’t forget to come back and post more photos as they grow!

 

[ChickenWhisperer101]

Here’s a recent photo (front left black ones waffles) this set up is temporary and the heat lamp is in there it’s just off for the photo,I hate chicken wire and they will hopefully be in a brooder with hardware cloth soon.

 

[Acre4Me]

Yes, Langshans are definitely slow to mature. Even though he gets along with your other chickens, he might still be a bit of an outcast since he has none of his broodermates to hang out with. And older hens will often keep a young cockerel in his place, so it might take several more months until he develops the maturity and confidence to act the role of flock rooster. But I would think that without any other roosters to compete with, he will get there eventually.

So, it has been a couple of months since my last post. Our langshan male has begun to crow and mate! He does not crow a lot, so far. He is wary of the humans, and keeps his distance. He does not harass the girls either. Not sure if he’s mating all the girls, though. He is tall!