Standardbred Leghorn Thread

[ChicKat]

Thanks for starting this thread. I'll be a subscriber too.... It will be so interesting to hear people serious about these birds weigh in. Like you, I seem to have trouble finding an in-depth discussion of type.

Don't know if my birds are 'pets' or not..., however, the Isabel genetics came from Buddy Henry (Tennessee, I think) via a BYCer in TN - and via CJWaldon.

Beautiful bird in post #9 -- he does look like the 'text book' pictures. Also I have great admiration for Silver-duck-wings. Those are really pretty plumage patterns. My admiration includes both males & females.

Amazon on Kindle has some good books -
The Leghorns Brown, White, Black, Buff, and Duckwing: An Illustrated Leghorn Standard with a Treatise on Judging Leghorns and Complete Instructions on Breeding, Mating and Exhibiting Kindle Edition
it's 99-cents to download.

Also noticed this book

Standard-Bred Leghorns: Brown, White Buff, Black and Silver, Duckwing, their Origin and History and Practical Qualitites, the Standard Requirements, how to Mate and Breed for Best Results Kindle Edition
by John Henry Drevenstedt (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

thinking because the title is a bit different and this one has a named author it may be a different book. It's also 99-cents.

I think it was Miami Leghorn that pointed the way to that first book.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Here is one of my Silver roosters. The wing feathers are trimmed to avoid them flying over their fenced areas.
I'll try to get the other one later.
Shoot away with your observations.
I'm a big boy.

@The Moonshiner
View attachment 2491962

His back looks A little short to me

 

[Miami Leghorn]

We all do, I'm starting from scratch (hatchery stock) on my Houdans right now. My biggest complaint about them, too, is how small they are, but it still surprises me just how tiny most hatchery stock is compared to standardbred birds!

What's your plan to improve them?

I don't know that's why I'm here to learn from you's guys.

 

[cmom]

Yep, got mine last year. Didn't occur to me to look on eBay for a used one! That's smart. The standards committee is working on some big changes for the next edition but I don't know when that's coming out. Probably won't spring for it since I just bought a new one, but the club releases a list of all the changes so you can print it off and keep it with the book if you need it.

I already have to keep the Legbar standard in there like that since they're not approved yet.

Many years ago I came across a 1921 edition of the SOP. I compared it to my newer one which is the latest edition. Not much has changed except as you noted the breeds that have been approved added over the years.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

@Geckolady I've attached the first Leghorn book that @ChicKat mentions. It's in the public domain, I guess. Never occurred to me to upload free books to Amazon and sell them, LOL!

I find it quite useful and while it is old and what wins at shows shifts back and forth a bit due to the preferences of influential judges and breeders, it's useful to see these things discussed.

Hmm, scratch that on the attachment. Too large. I'll look for it hosted online somewhere, but until then if anyone wants to PM me their email address I'll send it through that way.

In the meanwhile, here's another excellent book with similar qualities. I especially appreciate the images on page 31 in evaluating toplines and tail angles.

The Leghorns: Brown-White-Buff-Black-Duckwing by America's Leading Authorities

It is interesting that all of these books have nearly identical titles but these two, at least, have rather distinctive information, though I'm sure there is some overlap.

Edited to add an online version of the book that was too large to attach: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009607764

Here's "The Brown Leghorn: How to Mate, Rear and Judge Them"

And here's a WHOLE LIST of old Leghorn books that you can read online for free! They cover every possible topic from genetics, to history to the practical things like breeding and keeping them.

Enjoy!

I tried to add these to the first post for quick reference, but I can no longer edit that post?! Ugh. I feel like this thread is ruined now.

 

[cmom]

No two judges see the birds exactly the same way. Hatchery birds do tend to be smaller than a breeders stock. It will take a few years to get really nice birds.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

Luckily, excellent browns are fairly readily available and as two sides of the same duckwing coin, silver is compatible. I think when I first saw you start posting around @MIAMI LEGHORN you were interested in "golden" Leghorns, the intermediate shade between silver and gold? I think if you get the best light browns you can find, you can grade in the silver for both golden and silvers in addition to the traditional lt brown.

It'll take a lot of generations of grading in to maintain the color, but it's totally doable. Honestly, reviewing some of these old books as I am I'm wondering if our current show lines are really much too heavy. My boys are beefy and I appreciate their dual-purpose function... but that's not really what a Leghorn is supposed to be.

It's also inconvenient in that they are HOGS on the feed! My scrappy Legbars literally eat probably half as much per bird.

 

[cmom]

I was surprised when I first started showing my Leghorns. I thought a lighter weight bird would be an advantage, but no the judges preferred the beefier ones and they remarked the backs were too short so I started breeding my longer backs birds.

 

[cmom]

I bought three pullets from a breeder at a show. Two were Leghorns but one wasn't. She had something else in her. I think RIW. She did have pink in her earlobes which I didn't notice at first and her chicks have different colors in the and some were Rose Comb. She was mixed with something and the fellow told me he had recently started with some RIW's. That would explain it because the original cross for a RIW used a White Wyandotte (Rose Comb). I sold them but have their offspring (pullets). I sold all of the males. I have not mixed them with my birds. I have no Idea where he got his RIW's not many people raise them.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Luckily, excellent browns are fairly readily available and as two sides of the same duckwing coin, silver is compatible. I think when I first saw you start posting around @MIAMI LEGHORN you were interested in "golden" Leghorns, the intermediate shade between silver and gold? I think if you get the best light browns you can find, you can grade in the silver for both golden and silvers in addition to the traditional lt brown.

It'll take a lot of generations of grading in to maintain the color, but it's totally doable. Honestly, reviewing some of these old books as I am I'm wondering if our current show lines are really much too heavy. My boys are beefy and I appreciate their dual-purpose function... but that's not really what a Leghorn is supposed to be.

It's also inconvenient in that they are HOGS on the feed! My scrappy Legbars literally eat probably half as much per bird.

There's a breeder Jacob Bates,bred and showed "Golden Leghorns"... We corresponded for a short time he started with bantams and moved on to LF.
He said LF, same as bantams,he would have a Silver rooster over a Brown or Light Brown hen.
He said the formula was simple.Just follow it.
He's since moved onto Ducks I think,but still breeds other chickens I believe.
He explained that what I called Gold Duckwing Leghorns, the APA were calling them "Golden Leghorns, but they look exactly the same.
Also,
from someone else's writing,and older book.Can't remember the title.It read to pick your best individuals after first or second matings,and set up two pens...best brother and sister early on, bring it in tight,again,best to have two pens running at the same time,preferably the foundation stock should be related- both pens-to each other. Then if you have two individuals that are close to where you want them,one from each pen,put them into a pen together. Offspring should be brought in tight as well.Hopefully,you should have close to what you want when this pair starts to produce.
@The Moonshiner ...would like to hear your opinion on this scenario.