The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[NagemTX]

With the hawk issues I'm having right now I'm wishing for one. No birds missing but the racket is unnerving. I put trellis that's folded in half for extra hiding spots and it's gotten much better.

 

[Amer]

That is awesome! I have no experience with Spitzhauben and limited experience with Ameraucanas but intelligence in a breed like that is very important in my opinion. Just as importance as any quality such as egg color or phenotype. Intelligent birds produce progeny that will adapt to free-ranging, which minimizes losses to predators because the birds don't act dumb and sleep in a pile in the middle of the yard like some of my heavier birds have done in the past when juveniles. Instead, they instinctively roost where they are safe, elevated, and off the ground.

My little Leghorn rooster runs to me every time he sees me, making the pullets follow suit. I think that is sweet. He knows "hey there is that human that feeds us!" lol

I also love intelligent birds, but more because it gives them a lot of personality.
I would never risk my precious bantams to free range, it's not like they take much to house anyway.

 

[Amer]

But when I get my turkeys those are going to be free ranged.

 

[KF0002]

@Amer what do you think of this comb? Just for curiosity sake. I am thinking about attempting a SDW line of Leghorns out of our Games, but I’m not 100% on it yet. It is simply in the brainstorming phase. This bird has visible autosomal red so that may be a bugger to contend with? Thoughts?

 

[Amer]

@Amer what do you think of this comb? Just for curiosity sake. I am thinking about attempting a SDW line of Leghorns out of our Games, but I’m not 100% on it yet. It is simply in the brainstorming phase. This bird has visible autosomal red so that may be a bugger to contend with? Thoughts?

View attachment 4111335

The last spike intruding on the blade is a little annoying but since the comb is straight with no splits or sprigs going one way or the other, I see no issue with it. Overall it's well balanced.
I wouldn't call the comb large so much as the head and wattles are small being a game so Leghorn blood would balance it out.
I don't know how difficult it is to get rid of autosomal red.

 

[KF0002]

With the hawk issues I'm having right now I'm wishing for one. No birds missing but the racket is unnerving. I put trellis that's folded in half for extra hiding spots and it's gotten much better.

Can a hawk carry off a full-sized chicken or just the juveniles there? The hawks here I think mainly go for juveniles, so they can be an issue if the chicks wander off too far.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Got a few birds set up so I can start collecting eggs in a couple days.
Just a few small groups that I'm gonna lose if I don't get some numbers hatched.
Buff 1M, 3F
Brown M, crele F
Exchequer M, 3 exchequer F, 3 blue mottled F
(SF) barred blue M, 2 barred F
2 lavender SDW M, 3 lavender SDW F
Blue silver crele M, 6 silver crele F

The lavender SDW is driving me crazy. Seems I have more males then I thought. Then I second guessed and thought maybe one of those two is a blue SDW. Idk WTH but neither have toe punch marks. Everyone is still half muddy or dirty from the pen the girls came from. I know I only have 3 in there but then with the male confusion I wonder are those girls right or is that peach colored breast just mud stain. I think I spent too much time today picking birds and setting up pens. Feel I'm losing my mind. I'm done until tomorrow and a fresh start.

 

[NagemTX]

Can a hawk carry off a full-sized chicken or just the juveniles there? The hawks here I think mainly go for juveniles, so they can be an issue if the chicks wander off too far.

Juveniles and bantams. They do try the large birds as well. They have also tried taking a cat.

 

[KF0002]

The last spike intruding on the blade is a little annoying but since the comb is straight with no splits or sprigs going one way or the other, I see no issue with it. Overall it's well balanced.
I wouldn't call the comb large so much as the head and wattles are small being a game so Leghorn blood would balance it out.
I don't know how difficult it is to get rid of autosomal red.

Thank you for your feedback. I haven't decided whether I am going to attempt that project, it was just a thought. I was talking to a friend who has tried to get decent Silver Duckwing Leghorns and he said that are hard to find, so that got my wheels turning. However, I may have more than enough irons in the fire so I may not need to start yet another project.

Unfortunately, I candled some eggs from the Legbar x Brown Leghorn hen and her eggs went from near 100% fertility with the Red Leghorn rooster over her, to what is looking like zero percent fertility on the most recent set of eggs I set off the Legbar rooster. It was only a quick candling just out of curiosity and it isn't quite day 7, so I will candle again on day 7 and see if any are fertile.

Got a few birds set up so I can start collecting eggs in a couple days.
Just a few small groups that I'm gonna lose if I don't get some numbers hatched.
Buff 1M, 3F
Brown M, crele F
Exchequer M, 3 exchequer F, 3 blue mottled F
(SF) barred blue M, 2 barred F
2 lavender SDW M, 3 lavender SDW F
Blue silver crele M, 6 silver crele F

The lavender SDW is driving me crazy. Seems I have more males then I thought. Then I second guessed and thought maybe one of those two is a blue SDW. Idk WTH but neither have toe punch marks. Everyone is still half muddy or dirty from the pen the girls came from. I know I only have 3 in there but then with the male confusion I wonder are those girls right or is that peach colored breast just mud stain. I think I spent too much time today picking birds and setting up pens. Feel I'm losing my mind. I'm done until tomorrow and a fresh start.

Sounds like a pretty productive day. You're in good company if you feel like you're losing your mind, because mine is already gone! lol To save you the confusion, you can just scrap every one of them and send them to me in Kentucky. Problem solved.

I would give my left pinky toe for all of those varieties!

 

[KF0002]

Juveniles and bantams. They do try the large birds as well. They have also tried taking a cat.

The hawks would have a feast if they could pick up cats here. There are dozens of feral cats in my holler. The neighbor feeds them. They are a colony and all intact so they reproduce like rabbits.