@Sylvester017
We adore our plain white Leghorns! They get along really well, very active and quiet, have been trained to jump up to eat treats out of my hand.
Having chickens was a complete accident. My son passed by a hatchery during the last week of June 2014, picked up four day-old chicks for fun, and brought them home in a paper bag. Week 1 was a like a petting zoo came to town, everyone was curious and excited. By week 2 the chicks had to be put in a large dog kennel to give them more room. By week 3, we were in a panic mode having chicks flying around inside the house. We moved them outdoor during the day and they flew up to the top of the trees. Being completely clueless about chickens and zero experience with pets, you can imagine the chaos from chasing the chickens around the yard. That's when Google became our best guide in coop design and learn up on what to do. Frankly, we didn't even know there were so many different species of chickens or personalities. Our previous chicken encounters have been with the Tyson and Purdue products. So far, I think we have done our homework in giving these girls a comfortable shelter, with a setup that our neighbors don't complaint (since we have a small lot), and a low maintenance routine for me. Meanwhile, my son left for college, left us with his $10 chicks which cost us $1K to build this coop.
For surprise chicks your boy couldn't have gotten a better breed for egg-laying. There are many layer breeds but Legs surpass any other breed in feed-to-egg ratio output and I've never had a broody White Leg. Had a Buff Leg (rare) that went broody for 6 weeks which cut into her numbers but our White was a dynamo and quite sweet for 3 years as alpha in our flock. However, the flock dynamics changed when we added a couple gentle non-combative breeds and the White Leg started getting way too assertive toward all old and new members in the flock. It was our fault for changing the flock routine and we had to rehome our two assertive Legs in the interest of the majority of non-combative gentle breeds. But I still get to visit my Legs. I worry when a White Leg gets to 4 years of age because 45% develop ovarian or reproductive issues because of their prolific egg-laying.. If Legs pass that critical age 4 w/o issues they can lay up to 6-8 years where other breeds have spent their frequent laying years by aged 3-5. We found our Legs became more assertive each year after recovering from their exhausting moults. The combs seem to get bigger and floppier too. We should've called our White Leg Tallulah Bankhead or Veronica Lake (two old movie actresses with hair over their eyes!)
You've done an excellent job on the home for your Legs and they are the best egg breed to have for the $$$ output in your housing. Legs are quite tame when you have treats for them and will sit on your knee or arm when sitting in a chair. They are not a petting, hold-in-your-arms breed, but are quite enjoyable if you let them choose where they want to perch or sit on you. Our White as alpha was very predator-savvy, alert, fast, and not one to be surprised by our visiting Cooper's Hawk. She taught all the other breeds how to hide, snooze safely outside the coop, and where all the good foraging spots were in the garden. But like all chicken breeds the egg song can be a bit noisy but usually doesn't last more than a few short minutes.
The Mediterranean class of chickens, in fact, it seems most Meds that lay white eggs, are assertive and could be mixed together like Ancona, Legs, Andalusian, Minorca, Catalana, Black Spanish, etc. Meds are no shrinking violets and usually don't back down from flock politics when challenged. They also take advantage of gentle breeds which we found out the hard way. Being assertive is good with other assertive breeds but not around the gentle/non-combative breeds like Silkies, Polish, Houdan, Sultan, Faverolles, Easter Eggers, Araucana, Breda, Cochins, Ameraucana, etc.
Your coop will last for a few years. When your girls go to chicken heaven get new girls to continue using that beautiful coop of yours! Once you have chickens it will be hard to stop having them and their beautiful eggs. GO LEGS!