Mixing Leghorns

[orrpeople]

Ihave a "reverse" intergration story...
My leghorns (55s) were integrated with my mixed breed flock as juvies. Everyone did fine (normal skirmishes, nothing noteworthy). Then I moved them into their breeding pen and on their free range days they only keep to themselves. Even the roosters. Other hens are everywhere, but nope - they're sticking to their own flock. They seriously do everything together! (All my other breeds, on their free range days, are singing, "Freedom!" )

 

[The Moonshiner]

What if you put day old chicks under the broody leghorn hens before they gave up, do you think they’d care for the chicks?

I could only guess by my experience with leghorns.
I could see them just as riverotter stated "one step above a guinea". If they're broody I would imagine them wanting to care for the chicks but just like guineas I think it would be a game of keep up if you can. I think they would be poor mothers.
I currently have 3 or 4 times as many leghorns as all other breeds put together.
In spring and summer I turn juveniles loose into my laying flock which does include adult leghorn hens that I've retired to being just layers. In the winter I turn just about everyone loose together.
I don't see them really picking on others or being picked on by others. Leghorns are good at disappearing when any scuffles come up.
They do seem to group more with simular "flighty" breeds. Phoenix are probably the best buddies here.
I think they tend to mind their own business and move around throughout the day more then the heavier laying breeds so it makes sense that they may get along better with other breeds that have simular free range habits.

 

[RiverOtter]

What do you mean by this? You can’t put other eggs under her?

You might be able to sneak a few in once, but they're pretty feral about it, it doesn't take much to convince them their nest has been violated and isn't safe.

What if you put day old chicks under the broody leghorn hens before they gave up, do you think they’d care for the chicks?

I certainly wouldn't count on them to. If you want a hen to do that, I'd got for a Silkie or bantam Cochin or some such breed.

As for leghorns hatching chicks I would be very interested in seeing a closeup of a leghorn hen brooding a clutch of chicks.

I'll see if I can find some! I'm several generations and 8 years in, (and this was several computers ago as well!) and my original Leghorns (white Leghorns and California Whites, from Cackle Hatchery) are all long gone - they lived 3 to 5 years on average, and to my vast surprise, a couple of those and an EE hen were the only birds I got that every went broody. None of the Barred Rocks or Buff Orps or sexlinks ever did.

I had gotten 50 assorted pullets, with a note that unlike many, I LOVE Leghorns, so I ended up with a bunch of them, and at the same time I got a Fry-Pan Special. I raised them all free range, penned at night and found that Leghorns will happily (blissfully, joyfully) go feral and act for all the world like Games. To this day I spend a lot of time making sure everyone is in the coop, but they forage so well & produce so well it's worth it to me.
I culled the roosters as soon as they showed any traight I didn't like and ended up with a California White rooster, 2 EEs and a lovely Barred rock. A RSL (and they're Leghorn cross) rooster was well mannered enough to hang around long enough that my current oldest bird, a 7 year old hen, was fathered by one and out of an EE hen.

All of the birds I have today are descended from those, and show heavy and obvious Leghorn influence, with a couple that look EE. My eggs are fairly consistently cream colored, but I hatch out the rare green egg layer.

I'll look for my old pictures of the original girls with chicks - the little white hens can't be mistaken for anything else - and I'd be happy to show off my current mutts if it would help anyone.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

So did you breed for broodiness? I’d love to see pictures of your current chickens!

 

[The Moonshiner]

So your leghorns that went broody were leghorn crosses?

 

[aliciaplus3]

Ok I had a hatchery white leghorn go broody over the summer 2 times, the first she sat in the too hot coop and after almost 4 weeks the eggs didn't hatch, the second time after 2 plus weeks of taking her eggs I let her keep 5 and she did well for 2 more weeks even stuck through me moving her and the nest into the broody box in the house..... right up till my son vacuumed that room and the top of her box..... sigh she finally broke being broody but I managed to hatch the 3 viable eggs in the bator with a batch I had going. I never got to see how she did as a mother but she was determined. We will see how she does this year

 

[Iva S.]

I could only guess by my experience with leghorns.
I could see them just as riverotter stated "one step above a guinea". If they're broody I would imagine them wanting to care for the chicks but just like guineas I think it would be a game of keep up if you can. I think they would be poor mothers.
I currently have 3 or 4 times as many leghorns as all other breeds put together.
In spring and summer I turn juveniles loose into my laying flock which does include adult leghorn hens that I've retired to being just layers. In the winter I turn just about everyone loose together.
I don't see them really picking on others or being picked on by others. Leghorns are good at disappearing when any scuffles come up.
They do seem to group more with simular "flighty" breeds. Phoenix are probably the best buddies here.
I think they tend to mind their own business and move around throughout the day more then the heavier laying breeds so it makes sense that they may get along better with other breeds that have simular free range habits.

Do you know of any place I can buy a Phoenix?

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Stromberg’s Chickens, Cackle Hatchery, Murray McMurray Hatchery, & Ideal are the hatcheries that I know sell phoenixes.

 

[RiverOtter]

So your leghorns that went broody were leghorn crosses?

No, everything I have now is a Leghorn cross, and they still go broody.
Originally, I had bought a bunch of purebreds from a hatchery and it was White Leghorns and California Whites (which are I suppose technically a leghorn X, but it's Leghorn crossed on Leghorn) who went broody and hatched out eggs. Not all of them, by any means, but the breeds I was expecting to didn't at all.

Pictures of my latest mutts, these were hatched the end of August and will start laying any day now. Like I said, I have all mutts at this point, but you can still see that they are Leghorn mutts, with a nice splash of EE. I get some wild colors


If it's not clear, these are 2 different roos


The aforementioned Chicklet, all puffed up (It's 20 degrees here) I gave her to my friend when I moved, so even fluffed you can see she is a dainty thing next to the sex-links behind her

 

[RUNuts]

Our flock will be 1 year old in May. All from Ideal. 7 Leghorns, 4 Barred Rocks, 3 dark red and 3 light red hens (RIR, production reds, New Hampshires - IDK, same size, same shape as the BR, just different color). Getting along fine. The Leghorns and BR are near the top and the reds are at the bottom. Mostly.

No bald patches and little blood. The time around everyone starting to lay was rough.

Only had one bird think she was broody. Leghorn - Ideal 236, so leghorn cross. After I shooed her off the nest for 2 days, we were done.