Standardbred Leghorn Thread

[jwehl]

"This is not a thread for hatchery leghorns, nor is it for pets" Tillie falls into both of those categories lol

I'm sorry I just know you're obsessed with leghorns haha

 

[black_cat]

I'm sorry I just know you're obsessed with leghorns haha

Because they're GLORIOUS

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

"This is not a thread for hatchery leghorns, nor is it for pets" Tillie falls into both of those categories lol

LOL i need to find a way to word that more kindly or something! It's not meant to exclude anyone, just to focus the conversation. I have hatchery leghorns, too, but i find them vastly different from my standardbred birds. Easily as different as different breeds!

 

[black_cat]

LOL i need to find a way to word that more kindly or something! It's not meant to exclude anyone, just to focus the conversation. I have hatchery leghorns, too, but i find them vastly different from my standardbred birds. Easily as different as different breeds!

Yeah, of course!! I love leghorns but I only have my (I'm assuming) hatchery white hen, in my profile pic. She has her own appreciation thread.

 

[MIAMI LEGHORN]

Because they're GLORIOUS

Your forgot REGAL.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

This summer I plan to obtain some Leghorns from a few breeders. It will be a good opportunity for me to compare with the hatchery leghorns I already have.I'm going to be following this thread for sure.When I'm able to,I'll be posting some pics here.

What varieties are you hoping to get and from who? I believe there's actually a pretty good Leghorn contingent down in Florida, but I could be wrong.

I'm trying to get a dark brown female from Bud, but barring that... I guess I'll wind up with eggs or chicks from him. I'm really torn between varieties. I am obsessed with "fixing" Isabella, but the browns are so stunning and classic to me.

Totally Out of Place Rambling on Double Mating:

I think Silver hens are probably the prettiest females, but I don't care for the males at all. I don't ever see Silvers talked about much by the serious folks, I wonder if there's anyone working on them? That's a variety where I would find it easy to double mate for nice girls, whereas I feel a little torn with the light browns. The light brown males are beyond stunning, but the light brown hens have their appeal too. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I don't care much for the dark brown hens, lol. I find both attractive in Isabella due to the high contrast between comb and wattle and the pale plumage, but I suspect I'll focus on females for exhibition until I lick the feather issues that are so obvious in males.

 

[black_cat]

Your forgot REGAL.

And IMPOSING.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

My reserve champion.
View attachment 2487410

I was going over photos and videos of the light brown males I have to choose from last night with my mentor and discussing how much of a balancing act it is to get good color and type on the same bird. We were making compromises on both points and trying to match them to females which were strong and weak in complementary ways. It's like putting together a very confusing puzzle with lots of moving parts.

Looking at this handsome boy, it reminds me that so many show and class winners are white or black because the breeder doesn't have to make those compromises and trade small points in type for points in color—they can focus entirely on type and develop truly exemplary specimens of the breed. Furthermore, trying to grade in that type to colored/patterned varieties is often futile since you'd have to breed back to the other color so hard to recover the pattern that you'd lose any benefit of the outcross anyway.

Have you found any challenges particular to whites? (Aside from keeping them clean! LOL) I hear yellow leakage can be an issue but I don't know how often that pops up. Do you ever see other color anomalies?

Do you find the white variety offers good competition or are you often alone? I'm also curious what you feel your main priorities in breeding are, and where you feel your line is weak. Looking at these things on white birds helps me understand type so much easier.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

What varieties are you hoping to get and from who? I believe there's actually a pretty good Leghorn contingent down in Florida, but I could be wrong.

I'm trying to get a dark brown female from Bud, but barring that... I guess I'll wind up with eggs or chicks from him. I'm really torn between varieties. I am obsessed with "fixing" Isabella, but the browns are so stunning and classic to me.

Totally Out of Place Rambling on Double Mating:

I think Silver hens are probably the prettiest females, but I don't care for the males at all. I don't ever see Silvers talked about much by the serious folks, I wonder if there's anyone working on them? That's a variety where I would find it easy to double mate for nice girls, whereas I feel a little torn with the light browns. The light brown males are beyond stunning, but the light brown hens have their appeal too. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I don't care much for the dark brown hens, lol. I find both attractive in Isabella due to the high contrast between comb and wattle and the pale plumage, but I suspect I'll focus on females for exhibition until I lick the feather issues that are so obvious in males.

I'm getting some silvers from a hatchery, but they looked rather nice. Maybe I'll get lucky with a hen

 

[MIAMI LEGHORN]

What varieties are you hoping to get and from who? I believe there's actually a pretty good Leghorn contingent down in Florida, but I could be wrong.

I'm trying to get a dark brown female from Bud, but barring that... I guess I'll wind up with eggs or chicks from him. I'm really torn between varieties. I am obsessed with "fixing" Isabella, but the browns are so stunning and classic to me.

Totally Out of Place Rambling on Double Mating:

I think Silver hens are probably the prettiest females, but I don't care for the males at all. I don't ever see Silvers talked about much by the serious folks, I wonder if there's anyone working on them? That's a variety where I would find it easy to double mate for nice girls, whereas I feel a little torn with the light browns. The light brown males are beyond stunning, but the light brown hens have their appeal too. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I don't care much for the dark brown hens, lol. I find both attractive in Isabella due to the high contrast between comb and wattle and the pale plumage, but I suspect I'll focus on females for exhibition until I lick the feather issues that are so obvious in males.

There's a breeder that I contacted through Craigslist that deals with Black leghorns about 2 hours drive north of my area I'll see what he's got but as a backup I've got Black Leghorn eggs that I'm getting ready to order from Fred Zillich and I found a breeder in Michigan Crazy Chicken Farm, I forget her name I have it saved on my phone she's got Buff Leghorns but I won't be able to get any till probably late summer; she's very backed up.