Leghorn Thread

[Sswanee48]

Okay I will address this to everyone. I had 3 brown Leghorns and they were so awful and mean to any newcomers that I ended up selling them. Every chicken I had was scared to death of them. When I would go out in the morning and open the coop door the chickens would fly at me and bombard me. I thought it was because they were so excited to get out but I found out after I sold the Leghorns that it was just that they wanted to get away from them. They were mean to each other too. I couldn't believe how calm it was after they were gone. Could have just been a mean bunch although I read that they are an aggressive chicken.

I sold my little cockerel today and put on quite a show for his buyer. He was crowing and fighting and the man definitely knew he was a roo. ahaha! I also sold one of the blues. I told him I wasn't sure about the sex and he just said if it turns out to be a boy i'll just eat him
I read several comments about Leghorns on one of the threads and only one person said anything against them. She was just like me. I called mine the chickens from Hell! You're right though. They were great layers and had fun points but they just didn't play well with others.
I think the reason one of the chicks doesn't have a comb yet is because they are only 6 weeks and she is just small and needs to catch up. I'm hoping now that I know the pullets have big combs too that I will have at least one female out of the three.

 

[Michael Apple]

Okay I will address this to everyone. I had 3 brown Leghorns and they were so awful and mean to any newcomers that I ended up selling them. Every chicken I had was scared to death of them. When I would go out in the morning and open the coop door the chickens would fly at me and bombard me. I thought it was because they were so excited to get out but I found out after I sold the Leghorns that it was just that they wanted to get away from them. They were mean to each other too. I couldn't believe how calm it was after they were gone. Could have just been a mean bunch although I read that they are an aggressive chicken.

I sold my little cockerel today and put on quite a show for his buyer. He was crowing and fighting and the man definitely knew he was a roo. ahaha! I also sold one of the blues. I told him I wasn't sure about the sex and he just said if it turns out to be a boy i'll just eat him
I read several comments about Leghorns on one of the threads and only one person said anything against them. She was just like me. I called mine the chickens from Hell! You're right though. They were great layers and had fun points but they just didn't play well with others.
I think the reason one of the chicks doesn't have a comb yet is because they are only 6 weeks and she is just small and needs to catch up. I'm hoping now that I know the pullets have big combs too that I will have at least one female out of the three.

Just like some kinds of people and cultures don't mix well together, the same goes for chickens, even when raised together. Lots of people with mixed flocks do fine with birds of equal size and temperament. I don't mix Rhode Islands with Orps, Leghorns with Polish, Bantams with standards, etc. I'm sure someone will try to find an angle to argue with this point, but I prefer order in the flock and preventing stress. I had a Wyandotte hen that was nasty as can be to the other hens once their rooster passed on. One day my Australorp thumped her good, and order was restored to the flock. The Aussie is a benevolent dictator. Much can be noticed at the trough.

 

[Michael Apple]

 

[cjwaldon]

Okay I will address this to everyone. I had 3 brown Leghorns and they were so awful and mean to any newcomers that I ended up selling them. Every chicken I had was scared to death of them. When I would go out in the morning and open the coop door the chickens would fly at me and bombard me. I thought it was because they were so excited to get out but I found out after I sold the Leghorns that it was just that they wanted to get away from them. They were mean to each other too. I couldn't believe how calm it was after they were gone. Could have just been a mean bunch although I read that they are an aggressive chicken.

I sold my little cockerel today and put on quite a show for his buyer. He was crowing and fighting and the man definitely knew he was a roo. ahaha! I also sold one of the blues. I told him I wasn't sure about the sex and he just said if it turns out to be a boy i'll just eat him
I read several comments about Leghorns on one of the threads and only one person said anything against them. She was just like me. I called mine the chickens from Hell! You're right though. They were great layers and had fun points but they just didn't play well with others.
I think the reason one of the chicks doesn't have a comb yet is because they are only 6 weeks and she is just small and needs to catch up. I'm hoping now that I know the pullets have big combs too that I will have at least one female out of the three.

Leghorns mean and hateful? I've never experienced that. What I have noticed is they are extremely FLIGHTLY. The younger they are, the worse it is. The smaller their coop, the worse it is. Give them time and routine and ample space, they are just as calm and underfoot as any other breed. Almost Of course some breeds just can't be beat on calmness/friendliness scale. I suspect the Leghorns were just getting the other birds worked up in a frenzy. I've seen this in the brooders. One or two crazy *** chicks will stir up the whole lot of them regardless of breed. Of coures specific individuals or specific lines may indeed be mean, or, as Michael Apple said, group dynamics of a specific group may be in play, but I wouldn't say Leghorns as a whole are mean or aggressive.

 

[Sswanee48]

I read it on one of the ads when I was looking at what kinds of chickens there were and things like best layers, and other qualities. I already had the brown Leghorns and I was on Murray McMurray looking at chickens and read that they were aggressive and I thought that really fits mine. My chickens have all had free run since I got them. There are probably exceptions to every rule. Mine fight with each other when it came to anything. Two of them hung close to each other and stayed clear of the third one. When they go to roost at night there was always a fight. They were the first chickens I had and maybe they just didn't want any other's around. Who knows?!

 

[Alaskan]

It will depend also on who you get them from. Different breeders choose to breed for different traits.

It might be that all brown leghorns from Murray McMurray are very aggressive... totally possible, I have never tried their birds.

The Dark Brown Rose Comb Leghorns that I have ARE SUPER flighty, but not at all aggressive. They are actually very low on the totem pole. Of the three roosters that I hatched, one became aggressive, but the other two were fine... I kept the prettiest of the 2 nice ones, and he is still nice, and low on the totem pole. He does a good job of fertilizing the ladies without being mean to them or "over doing it".

My Rose Comb White Leghorns are much more mellow and friendly than the dark browns, and also nice and give me no problems with the other chickens.

My Single Comb White Leghorns from Cackle, are friendly, and not too flighty, but they are clearly more prone to cannibalism than other chickens.. their protein must be high enough, and lots of square feet, and they are fine.... ...

 

[Sswanee48]

Alaskan, Two of the Leghorns weren't all that bad. They even steered clear of the mean one. I got the Leghorns from a woman in Iowa and don't really know where she got them. My broody started hatching chicks yesterday. I went out last night and found an egg shell and didn't get to see any chicks until 4:30 today. They are so cute. I can't tell for sure how many have hatched because they pop in and out. It's so different then seeing them in the incubator all wet. They are so fluffy and cute. I will post some pictures as soon as my camera charges up.
I have white Leghorns and am hoping that they will be good. I have two left out of three and hope that they will be pullets. It looks like one might be pure leghorn and one a mix of Ameraucana and Leghorn.
I can't wait until mama starts parading around her chicks and hope she protects them well from the other chickens. They haven't been bothering her so far.

 

[Sswanee48]

Alaskan, I hope I didn't confuse you. I was comparing them to the chicks I have hatched in the incubator in the past. This is my first time with a broody. I hatched 3 groups in the incubator. I think I can be confusing some time. lol

 

[LoveThemBirds]

I had one hen......

 

[Alaskan]

Alaskan, I hope I didn't confuse you. I was comparing them to the chicks I have hatched in the incubator in the past. This is my first time with a broody. I hatched 3 groups in the incubator. I think I can be confusing some time. lol

no problem!

Very exciting and wonderful about the new chicks!

I had one hen......

oh, does that mean that you lost her? Such a shame... Leghorns are great.