Langshan Thread!!!

[thorleif]

I would not buy a Large Langshan as a pet. They live till they are 10! But, on the other hand, they are the kindest and most intelligent breed of chickens.The American Langshan i basically a Croad Langshan. Bred totally from the same ancestors. They were imported to Britain by Major Croad, hence the name.

 

[msladyhawke]

Hello,

I am new to hen keeping. At this point, I am interested in keeping them as pets and for eggs. I imagine as I have more time down the road I'll posibly be interested in the other aspects such as hatching, showing, etc.

Currently, I am looking for a chick/pullet/hen that will be kept as a pet and for eggs. I think they are gorgeous and I would like a plum brown egg color. I haven't been able to find a place to purchase a Croad Langshan in the US. Can someone help me? Thanks!

I think you you will continue to have difficulties obtaining a Langshan here if you are just looking for egg color. I have yet to see one that lays that color egg, nor do I care if mine do. They are not being bred for egg color, they are being bred to keep the integrity of the standard of "type". People breeding for egg color alone tend to lose sight of what the bird is even supposed to look like sometimes, JMHO. I have to say I am happy having them, as they have a great personality and are decent egg layers. Mine haven't stopped laying even in this frigid weather we are having, slowed down a touch maybe, but still laying. If you want a nice dark egg, I would suggest looking for a marans hen maybe? Good luck in your search.

 

[animalsRawesome]

I would not buy a Large Langshan as a pet. They live till they are 10! But, on the other hand, they are the kindest and most intelligent breed of chickens.The American Langshan i basically a Croad Langshan. Bred totally from the same ancestors. They were imported to Britain by Major Croad, hence the name.

I'm confused. Why wouldn't you buy them for a pet? I don't have them, so I'm just asking...

 

[MamaHenJenn]

I think you you will continue to have difficulties obtaining a Langshan here if you are just looking for egg color. I have yet to see one that lays that color egg, nor do I care if mine do. They are not being bred for egg color, they are being bred to keep the integrity of the standard of "type".  People breeding for egg color alone tend to lose sight of what the bird is even supposed to look like sometimes, JMHO. I have to say I am happy having them, as they have a great personality and are decent egg layers. Mine haven't stopped laying even in this frigid weather we are having, slowed down a touch maybe, but still laying. If you want a nice dark egg, I would suggest looking for a marans hen maybe? Good luck in your search.

Did I say I was just looking for egg color? No, I did not. However, that is IMHO one of the beautiful things about the breed, in addition to all of their other fine qualities.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Whoa peeps!!

I believe that she meant that the egg color is only one of the attributes she is after. I didn't hear about the eggs until joining this board as the standard calls for a brown egg to be laid by the breed.

If the egg color draws people in, it is our responsibility to share and enlighten about the breed as a whole. I refuse to sell eggs, chicks or eggs to anyone who is only after egg color. But if the same people are open to learning about the breed and would like to help breed towards the standard, I am not against sharing information until they are prepared to e stewards or the breed as a whole.

 

[MamaHenJenn]

Thank you. And, for the record, as a newbie I was a little turned off by what I was wondering was a snooty culture, or my actually doing something wrong? I'm just newer to chickens and I don't know. But, what's wrong with appreciating egg color as PART of the many things to be admired in a breed? I don't know. But, at this point, I love the two common little chicks we have. They are amazing. Maybe some time down the road, when I have more time to devote, I will breed Croad Langshans? They seem to be my favorite breed so far. I can love them as much as I want, for whatever reasons I want, in my ignorant bliss.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

It's nothing against you personally. We have all come together on here as we love the breed as a whole. The egg color has somewhat died out a bit and unfortunately, many people are so focused on that aspect of the breed that I know I am afraid that the breed will take a huge downturn like the Marans did.

For example, everyone wanted the dark brown color of the Marans eggs. Hence, everyone only bred for that color. They flouted the name of a certain breeder around to show everyone that they had the lineage for dark brown eggs. Although I am not sure if it is true any longer, this led me to believe that this line had poor conformation but had excellent egg color. Why? Because all of the birds I was seeing had awful conformation but had very dark eggs. The birds were small, really tight in feather and looked like a black Leghorn with smutty coloring in them. In truth, at times it was difficult to tell the difference between the Black Copper Marans and a black sex-link. This should not happen to any breed, ever.

This is why I choose to not sell to anyone that is after egg color. It means less sales for me, but it also means that my name will never be associated with poorly conformed birds that are only known for their egg coloring. For me, I don't see it as being snooty, but as preserving a breed that is already few and far between. My line was from a breeder that I consider a second grandfather. He took the time to mentor me and teach me as much as he could in the small amount of time he could. I strive to do as he did and do what I can for this breed.

As to what you did wrong. You didn't do anything wrong, but as soon as I see someone mention the egg color as part of their first post, it just turns me off immediately. I'm sure many on here did not read all the way through or simply took it the wrong way. I know I did with the initial email and I will apologize publicly for being a bit off-putting.

 

[MamaHenJenn]

It's nothing against you personally. We have all come together on here as we love the breed as a whole. The egg color has somewhat died out a bit and unfortunately, many people are so focused on that aspect of the breed that I know I am afraid that the breed will take a huge downturn like the Marans did. 

For example, everyone wanted the dark brown color of the Marans eggs. Hence, everyone only bred for that color. They flouted the name of a certain breeder around to show everyone that they had the lineage for dark brown eggs. Although I am not sure if it is true any longer, this led me to believe that this line had poor conformation but had excellent egg color. Why? Because all of the birds I was seeing had awful conformation but had very dark eggs. The birds were small, really tight in feather and looked like a black Leghorn with smutty coloring in them. In truth, at times it was difficult to tell the difference between the Black Copper Marans and a black sex-link. This should not happen to any breed, ever. 

This is why I choose to not sell to anyone that is after egg color. It means less sales for me, but it also means that my name will never be associated with poorly conformed birds that are only known for their egg coloring. For me, I don't see it as being snooty, but as preserving a breed that is already few and far between. My line was from a breeder that I consider a second grandfather. He took the time to mentor me and teach me as much as he could in the small amount of time he could. I strive to do as he did and do what I can for this breed. 

As to what you did wrong. You didn't do anything wrong, but as soon as I see someone mention the egg color as part of their first post, it just turns me off immediately. I'm sure many on here did not read all the way through or simply took it the wrong way. I know I did with the initial email and I will apologize publicly for being a bit off-putting. 

No, that's fine. I appreciate the information. I'm just learning and I'm not an expert chicken breeder or Langshan historian. I can appreciate protecting the breed, especially one so near to your heart. I can't have as much of an allegiance to the breed because I'm new and just learning about chickens. I like Langshans a lot though. At this point, I just wanted one to love, admire, and to care for. Our family can be happy with our two little chicks, one Buff Orpington, and an Americana. The Langshans are lucky to have people who love them. I don't have experience with people who only want a hen for it's egg color, I guess that's because I'm not a breeder. I'm coming from a place where I didn't even know about such a wide variation in breeds, colors, or egg colors, just drawn to chickens for the love of them. And the more I'm learning about this new world of chickens, the more I love them and want to learn.

 

[PetRock]

I purchased my first Langshan from a feed store for a backyard pet with benefits! I have a very eclectic backyard flock because I wasn't sure which breeds I would like and I kept seeing new ones that I wanted to try. My mixed flock is fun to watch, I get various colors of eggs, and I quickly learned which breeds I like and which are not my favorites. (Some I would never purchase again let alone breed.) For many reasons, my Langshans are my favorites and one of the two breeds that I'm choosing to breed at this time. I am not breeding them with the idea that they will make me money. If we can get to the point of selling some chicks and hatching eggs to offset the cost of raising them, that's great but I am mostly interested in working to bring my flock up to the SOP while also raising them for eating eggs and meat. My pullets are just starting to lay and I love the medium brown color of their eggs. But then, I love every single egg that my flock gives me no matter what the color!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

I'm just throwing this out there, I believe PetRock is near your area?

Why can't this be like Facebook where you can tag people?! haha!