thoughts on hatchery white leghorns

[A.T. Hagan]

That shot was back in the spring and took about six days to collect them all. We're gathering about forty eggs a day average this time of year. Naturally not all of them are going to have good enough shell quality to sell and occasionally we'll get some too stained to pass muster. We eat all of those.

We have about seventy layers at the moment, but they include the yard flock which is all of our oldest birds who are not very productive. It's the tractored flocks that lay most of the eggs. They're all yearling birds. One lay cycle then into the yard flock they go to be replaced by younger stock.

 

[DMRippy]

i have been reading this thread and was hoping for some info on the personalities of these birds. They are flighty and I can live with that but are they egg eaters and mean to each other? I have 5 pullets nearing POL and am getting a roo soon so I can have a good flock of egg layers for the family. Now the roo, his father seems to be a mean roo and the pullets are egg eaters and mean too, so am I going to have problems with these chicks and the roo? Is this just the breeds nature or not normal?

 

[OSUman]

Quote:
How do you get your hands on those birds? I would love to get some, I have been looking around at the different hatcheries and had decided that I would go with HyLine but if I can get my hands on these I would.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
How do you get your hands on those birds? I would love to get some, I have been looking around at the different hatcheries and had decided that I would go with HyLine but if I can get my hands on these I would.

This is the only place I have found to get them and I do think supplies are limited, this is where my guy get's his from.

mailto:[email protected]

 

[OSUman]

Quote:
How do you get your hands on those birds? I would love to get some, I have been looking around at the different hatcheries and had decided that I would go with HyLine but if I can get my hands on these I would.

This is the only place I have found to get them and I do think supplies are limited, this is where my guy get's his from.

mailto:[email protected]

Sweet thanks

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
What exactly are you feeding your birds? Feed, treats, everything. What are you feeding them?

 

[silkiechicken]

A.T. Hagan :

Quote:
What exactly are you feeding your birds? Feed, treats, everything. What are you feeding them?

Yeah, something sounds missing from their diet or environment. Mean roos can just happen out of luck by the nature of roosters, but egg eaters often start for lack of something in diet, boredom, finding out eggs contain good stuff some how, cramped spaces or something of the sort.

Mine have all been flighty, but have their own jittery personalities. A professor's daugher had two leghorns of the same bunch that were handled and spoiled so much that you'd have not thought it was a leghorn by it's mass and how easily you could just walk up to it and pick it up. It even brooded chicks... and yes, this was a leghorn sibling of the leghorns I was using for production.​

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
What exactly are you feeding your birds? Feed, treats, everything. What are you feeding them?

Yeah, something sounds missing from their diet or environment. Mean roos can just happen out of luck by the nature of roosters, but egg eaters often start for lack of something in diet, boredom, finding out eggs contain good stuff some how, cramped spaces or something of the sort.

Mine have all been flighty, but have their own jittery personalities. A professor's daugher had two leghorns of the same bunch that were handled and spoiled so much that you'd have not thought it was a leghorn by it's mass and how easily you could just walk up to it and pick it up. It even brooded chicks... and yes, this was a leghorn sibling of the leghorns I was using for production.

Let me clarify.... I don't have any problems with my birds. I was wondering if the problems the guy I am getting a roo from would continue. I never thought about a feed problem..... hum....

My birds get plenty of protein and I have not had these problems. I feed layer feed with spent grains added for more protein and everyone is doing great. I had a few roos that had floppy combs and they straightened right up after we add more protein (game cock and grains). I start adding the spent grains to feed at about a month. Cuts my feed bill and helps with giving them some more protein. BUT not TOO much. I know not to give too much protein.

I feel better about the birds now that makes sense, lack of protein. I should have thought of that but I am new to this and things don't jump out at me yet.

THANKS!

 

[silkiechicken]

If you get chicks from the guy with egg eating and mean roo issues.... there is a chance there is a genetic pre disposition to get a raging hormone rooster, but as long as they are getting what they need from the feed and do not pick up bad egg eating habits, I doubt you'll have any issue with them.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Alittle off the topic of white leghorns from a hatchery but follows the conversation
Me being the bored chicken breeder that I am, I have lots of time to plan out breeding set ups of imaginary breeds/crosses. One that I keep coming back to is the basic white araucana cock on white leghorn hens. Hatch tons and keep the first dozen or so hens that lay blue eggs first. Pair them up with a white leghorn cock and repeat the same thing, just keep the earliest laying blue egg layers. When we had true araucanas our hens laid earlier than the other colors and some of the tailed smooth faced chicks we got had a body that looked alot like leghorns, I think based on the clean blue eggs and some white in the earlobes that maybe they were crossed in before.
Our main sexlink pen this coming year will be easter egger based. We have the basic silver laced wyandotte and barred rock hens that were going to be crossed to a rhode island red rooster but he wasnt the best bird, very agressive, had a crooked toe and crooked keel so he went away. We were at fair and a lady had a pair of easter eggers from her flock, they were 1/4 RIR and 3/4 BBR colored easter egger. They looked just like hatchery RIR's in color and shape but with beard/muff, green legs, and pea comb and the hens lay a fair amount of green eggs. The rooster didnt like the lady, she said if someone didnt take him he would become stew but he was too pretty. We took him home, the name Stew stuck, he is red based so will work for sexlinks. He will be the main sire of the largefowl birds. He will be 'visiting' the brown leghorns and easter eggers too just for layer chicks.
So we will get the hybrid vigor from the cross, hopefully green eggs, and the sexlink ability. I would love to find some hatchery white leghorns to use for layer crosses. This coming spring I have a whole list of projects involving hatchery birds and white leghorns are on the list.