LEGHORN QUESTIONS

[lazy gardener]

Leghorns, standard single comb are a wonderful option for the southern flock owner. I have no idea if your new birds will stay off your porch, though! Excellent feed to egg conversion rate. Like most Mediterranean birds, they tend to be flighty. You may find it necessary to clip a wing.

 

[NorthGeogia]

Thanks to all your replies.
My other breeds were very good about free ranging and still laying all their eggs in the coop nest box. They returned to the coop at night and usually laid an egg in the early morning. If they had a later egg, they would still return to the nest box.

Are you saying that if leghorns free range, they will intermittently or rarely lay in the coop nest box?

 

[NikAndHerChicks]

All he said and more. Great layers of huge jumbo eggs that keep getting bigger and bigger. The most economical chicken for egg to feed ratio. One warning, mine like sleeping in trees, and will poo on the cars and anywhere else they take a notion to go. And they are known to roam long distances like Rhode Island Reds. I've caught mine headed down the dirt road going to town an 1/8 of a mile from home. Leghorns will tolerate being penned up but are happiest foraging. If they ever taste freedom, they will do every thing under the sun to escape being penned up. They are like little Houdini escape artists!
PS handle and pet them plenty regularly from the time they are little, otherwise you'll be lucky to ever get hands on them.

x3! Our leghorns are some of our most reliable layers. It has been a pretty miserable, cold winter here in MI, and at this moment the only member of our flock of 13 that are laying are our 2 Khaki Campbell ducks & our 2 White Leghorns! They definitely prefer to free-range than be confined. Their Houdini skills translate to not only being able to get out of confinement, but also getting INTO fenced off gardens. And as has already been mentioned, they like to lay their eggs in interesting areas... for months we had a Leghorn that would lay her eggs in the garage in our son's tennis shoe... her name is now & forever is Tenny!

 

[BY Bob]

My leghorn is a great layer. She has out produced my Australorp and my black sex link significantly. 360 in the first calendar year of laying. She does like to fly a little. Mostly on tables to see what we are eating. Being white is a drawback. Hawks have tried to get her.

She always returns to the coop and lays her eggs in the nesting box. I just needed to lock her in for a couple days so she recognized the coop as the place to lay and sleep.

You do need to handle them our you will never catch them.

Plus they are cute

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[Little Chicken Girl]

I would go for brown leghorns in your situation because they have better camouflage. They may not lay quite as well as white ones but they are very pretty and if you have cold winters you would be well advised to get the rose combed variety. They do love free ranging and they will lay their eggs all over the place given half a chance. My daily egg hunt used to involve ladders and crawling into awkward nooks and crannies to collect their eggs when I free ranged leghorns. I had exchequers which are the black and white mottled ones. Great personalities. I plan to hatch some more this year because I only have one cross bred daughter left from them. They can be very crafty and they like to get up a height if they can. They will probably be on the porch roof pooping on you, given half a chance!

There are 2 types of leghorns: Production (egg-layers) and show leghorns. The show leghorns are often bred for color and appearance and therefore lay less (~100 eggs less annually for the first few laying years). However, more color varieties are available with show leghorns. Production Leghorns are usually only sold in white. So, if you are going for egg-layers and you want brown, you might want to make sure to check what line the chicks are from.

 

[NikAndHerChicks]

When mine was laying in the shoe in the garage, she was still young (under a year old). Now that they are older & know where to lay they both lay regularly in the nesting box. It was a longer "nest-box training" than the other breeds that I have owned, but it eventually stuck! Apparently they are a slightly stubborn breed!?! Their rate of lay makes up for the stubbornness in my opinion, though!

 

[JedJackson]

Thanks to all your replies.
My other breeds were very good about free ranging and still laying all their eggs in the coop nest box. They returned to the coop at night and usually laid an egg in the early morning. If they had a later egg, they would still return to the nest box.

Are you saying that if leghorns free range, they will intermittently or rarely lay in the coop nest box?

Mine always laid where they were supposed to lay, in their nest boxes. It's a good idea with any type of chicken to keep them confined to the coop/run for a couple of weeks after they start laying so they will get the hang of laying inside.

 

[EggWalrus]

There are 2 types of leghorns: Production (egg-layers) and show leghorns. The show leghorns are often bred for color and appearance and therefore lay less (~100 eggs less annually for the first few laying years). However, more color varieties are available with show leghorns. Production Leghorns are usually only sold in white. So, if you are going for egg-layers and you want brown, you might want to make sure to check what line the chicks are from.

Little chicken girl, what kind of chicken is that on the left side if your profile pic? It's cute even if it's hair is a wreck!

 

[Little Chicken Girl]

Little chicken girl, what kind of chicken is that on the left side if your profile pic? It's cute even if it's hair is a wreck!

It is a Golden Laced Polish pullet (I am absolutely in love with the breed). Usually, Polish 'feather-doos' are 'rounded'. This one came from a local feed store though and is not standard... by a long shot. She is defiantly an interesting character though!
(You can read more about polishes here if you'd like ---> http://thewayofthechicken.com/index.php/2017/06/18/polishes/)

Wow... the chickens in your avatar are tall! Are Swamp chickens really chickens? I have never heard of them before.

 

[Katie’s Coop]

Hi everyone!
I am new (8/17) to raising chickens and have 2 white leghorns in my mixed flock of 10 pullets. 1 started laying on 12/28 at the age of 22 weeks and only missed laying on day 3, I have a perfect 50g white egg every morning since, so she has proven to be very reliable. Her “sister” has yet to lay but is very close. They are the smallest in size in my flock but they make up for it in attitude lol! They are the most curious and friendly (daily interaction) and love to free range. I have clipped the flight feathers of all of them to keep them from flying up and over the 4’ section of fence but they still can fly about 3’ and love to roost in the branches of my shrubs during the day and have top roosting bar at night. I’m pleased I chose some leghorns and would recommend them.