The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[Miami Leghorn]

I don't know much about anconas and I'm way more about seeing what I can do with just leghorns then mixing in other breeds.
I'd have to look into them more but I know the big difference is the pattern or at least to me it is. Ancona are simple mottled on black.
Exchequer are a bit of a mystery. I've had tons of people tell me they're the same. Just black with the mottled gene and then breed to extreme amount of white.
Someone else said they expect it is a slightly different mottled gene and their research said there was actually 3 or 4 different mottled genes.
I tried crossing exchequer to different patterns before to improve them but I couldn't get the right look back after they were crossed.
To me they bred like they were mottled but then had something else that modified the mottling to the patchy look.
My crosses went from exchequer to more of a regular mottled look and I never got the patchy look or the extreme amount of white back.
Others that seem to feather out with a closer look then got more white with every molt to an extreme.
By 2 1/2 to 3 years they were almost completely white. My exchequer never whited out like that.
Thats my challenge with them. Its not so simple as crossing them to another color then to each other or back to exchequer to improve type.
Thats my real fascination with them. Everyone that says theyre an expert on them don't seem to say what matches what I've experienced.
And I myself still don't understand them completely.
They seem really simple but have kept me scratching my head. That doesn't happen all the time for me so I'm intrigued beyond belief.

Dude.
A book.
You and Chickat with tons of chapters...

 

[The Moonshiner]

You know where exchequer came from don't you?
Its said that a breeder was breeding and hatching white leghorns and he hatched like 1,000 eggs and 5 came out as exchequer.
Now how does that happen or why did it happen.
There's been ideas but no one can/has proved their ideas.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

From Popular Poultry Breeds..

Don't know of this book is accurate cuz I've also read that Whites were used.
Also I've read that Whites carry tons of recessive genes.
I have stumbled onto ads from breeders where they state "True White"Leghorns.

 

[Miami Leghorn]

Here's where i started. This will be one of the floors. I got about 10' of space to work with so I used two full pallets and a partial one. I cut off the edges that ran past the stud part of the pallet and removed the slats from the bottom side.
Then I nailed 2x4s to pallet studs to hold them together.
View attachment 2135998
The back wall will be the barn wall so ive got one going in place. I had to knotch out for that cross member. Right now its setting on a crossboard of the barn and I'm adding 2x4s up and down against the wall and will add to front corners. You can see I had to use two 2x4s along the front so it's sagging and being propped up on the corners at the moment.
View attachment 2136021

and removed the slats from the bottom side.

And how fun was that? I spent a good two to three days breaking down pallets,separating and organizing the slats to lengths ;widths it can be a bit tedious...nice work you did there.
The things we do, huh?

 

[pozees2]

I don't know much about anconas and I'm way more about seeing what I can do with just leghorns then mixing in other breeds.
I'd have to look into them more but I know the big difference is the pattern or at least to me it is. Ancona are simple mottled on black.
Exchequer are a bit of a mystery. I've had tons of people tell me they're the same. Just black with the mottled gene and then breed to extreme amount of white.
Someone else said they expect it is a slightly different mottled gene and their research said there was actually 3 or 4 different mottled genes.
I tried crossing exchequer to different patterns before to improve them but I couldn't get the right look back after they were crossed.
To me they bred like they were mottled but then had something else that modified the mottling to the patchy look.
My crosses went from exchequer to more of a regular mottled look and I never got the patchy look or the extreme amount of white back.
Others that seem to feather out with a closer look then got more white with every molt to an extreme.
By 2 1/2 to 3 years they were almost completely white. My exchequer never whited out like that.
Thats my challenge with them. Its not so simple as crossing them to another color then to each other or back to exchequer to improve type.
Thats my real fascination with them. Everyone that says theyre an expert on them don't seem to say what matches what I've experienced.
And I myself still don't understand them completely.
They seem really simple but have kept me scratching my head. That doesn't happen all the time for me so I'm intrigued beyond belief.

This reminds me of a Cochin hen I have, who hatched black, feathered out mottled, over the next two years went almost completely white, and now in her 9th year, has been back to mottled with progressively more black each year the last three years. She's an old lady who still lays 2-3 eggs a week, and if I had a male I didn't think would break her I'd try to hatch something out of her, just to see if I could repeat it, or breed siblings to see if I could get it, but the two Cochin boys I have are just too big for her, she isn't bantam but isn't nearly as big as I think she should be. Great temperament and health, and beautiful to look at.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I hope the Exchequer Leghorn cockerels look more like Leghorns than the pullets.
Birds that become white over the years still breed like their original coloring. I can post the pages from F.B. Hutt if anyone wants.

 

[ChicKat]

I hope the Exchequer Leghorn cockerels look more like Leghorns than the pullets.
Birds that become white over the years still breed like their original coloring. I can post the pages from F.B. Hutt if anyone wants.

It would be interesting to see,IMO you should post picts.

Love that illustration Miami.... Notice that each male has a different comb ? Or are my eyes deceptive. Is the bottom right supposed to be barred Leghorn? Don't see many of them anyway. Nice comparison on the middle line of silver and gold duckwing. White leghonr has the best comb IMO and yet he has a high tail angle. Silver has lowest tail angle... but it doesn't look like a smooth line from head to tail. The white hen has waht a refer to as a 'fan tail' and the black hen has a pointed tail.
If I'm selecting, I want to go with smaller comb, lower tail angle and --- more of a fan tail? What's the preference in Leghorn type that Moonshiner's other readers have? Would y'all weigh in with some opinions.
What about you Moonshiner?
Oh -- and have those lavender patterened Isabel Duckwing Barred hens picked up laying? Hope they aren't still being slackers. There's no excuse. Wasn't one of them Iris? my pride and joy at one point. (but then she was one of the first that met the correct criteria). Question for you--- are they the only ones in your flock that break the Leghorn rules and lay tinted eggs? What do you do with all your eggs. No -- wait, you don't need to tell me, I know already-- you hatch them all.
BYC doesn't notify me when updates hit this thread.

ETA - changed my mind, I think the Buff has the best topline/tail angle of all the illustrated males. Anyone else ?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Yes I do have Iris. I got one egg so far and they cracked it so...
No I've had others that lay tinted. The Mille Fleur was especially bad about it.
The buffs seem to be too. I know there was a hatchery line that was bad about it but have since quit selling them.
I get a few here and there with my buffs. My hens were all good but I added a rooster from a show line and his daughters layed tinted.
Luckily I didn't use him long because my grow outs turned out better then him.
Heard that breeder used a buff rock to improve color at one point.
I'd also had some blacks from a show breeder and they ended up with almost all laying tinted.
I guess when you show they don't see the eggs so some of those breeders don't care about bringing in brown genes.
I just got rid of the blacks and with the buffs I have good males so I just don't hatch tinted eggs and if I figure out one that's laying them I get rid of her.
Hopefully I'll get it all weeded out.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I'm not really hatching much yet. Remember your spring comes earlier then mine.
I have a few pens set up but a lot haven't been set up yet. I had a bunch of hens all penned together seperate from males so they would get cleaned out. Somehow door got open and they got involved with 5 or 6 roosters that were running around so I have to seperate for 3 weeks again.
I need to get things rolling.
I was wondering the same about you the other day when you said you were full up on birds.
What are you doing with your eggs? Eating them?

 

[ChicKat]

I guess when you show they don't see the eggs so some of those breeders don't care about bringing in brown genes.

Y'know, IMO it could be even worse than that. When I took Cream Legbars to a show (I was the only Cream Legbars there so I got "Best in Breed" and "Reserve of Breed", but that was pretty meaningless since it was all my chickens competing against eachother, but at least I could see the ones that the judge liked the best)

--- Seems like even at other shows I went as an observer, the Cream Legbars are supposed to lay blue eggs, and if a tan egg was in a CL pen it was ignored, whereas it should technically disqualify the bird. hmmm On the other hand, someone could sneak a stray egg into a show cage when no one was looking and if that disqualified the bird - the cheater (or prankster) could eliminate their competition. So maybe it's best the show judge ignores the egg if it is there at the time of judging.

Except for eggs used for hatching they are all eaten here. Occasionally if I get eggs ahead I will gift a doz or half doz...but I only have 4 that are in lay right now. Some of the pullets will be on line by September --
Have you ever heard of the Keto 'Egg Fast'. you need to eat at least 6 eggs per day. (sounds like a lot but the whole diet is eggs, cheese and fats.) Also I have waffle recipes that call for 1 egg for each waffle. Eggs are a mainstay around here.

Are Leghorns soft feathered or hard feathered. I think I asked this before. For my birds, I'm glad that they have tinted eggs.

Sorry Iris is being a slacker. I may try putting Cayenne in the feed I give mine. Read a study that said that it makes the yolks darker yellow...and makes the egg size bigger. Not only do I not need darker yolks, or bigger eggs...but the boost in egg laying is kind of small..like maybe 1% or something like that. When I make a "white" bread recipe that I have, if I use one of my eggs, it comes out bright yellow bread. If I want white, I have to use just whites.