Coffee anyone ?

Mini Horses

Herd Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
9,299
Reaction score
29,375
Points
728
Location
S coastal VA
She's a barnyard mix! I have several pure Marans, RIR, BO, some EEs. Eggs hatched are from several donators.....ya know how they love to share a nest! Chicks are multi colors. All BYM chicks. New layers, some dinner delights. When I want pures, I pen them ahead of time and wait for sperm to clear, etc. I add some new blood about every other year. Will get a few BR and BO before Fall. I like the heavy breeds....and broody. Leghorns, nope. Have a few sexlinks, they lay well but, nothing there for butcher! My flock is down to about 30, plus these now. Several older hens will be supplemented with these and the new I buy for Fall. I don't use lights in winter and mine have a long life generally and lay a long time. All free range days.
 

Larsen Poultry Ranch

Herd Master
Joined
May 20, 2019
Messages
1,707
Reaction score
5,685
Points
353
Location
Auburn, CA
@Mini Horses do you think crossing a steady, bigger breed with leghorns would help the egg production? Or not worth it? I have some white leghorns I am thinking about crossing with an easter egger, and then maybe an orpington as secondary cross or just switch roosters to the orpington. The leghorns are super flighty but I haven't worked with them at all.

I have a bantam polish I messed with a lot as a chick and she is pretty darn tame, course it might be because she can't see anything beyond her hairdo.
 

Alaskan

Herd Master
Joined
May 9, 2017
Messages
5,366
Reaction score
12,588
Points
553
Location
Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
I enjoy my Leghorns, and often one or 2 of the Leghorns will go broody, and they have always been truly excellent mothers.

I like crossing the Leghorns with the Ameraucanas to get more meat and then high production of blue eggs.

The flightiness of my Leghorns is very different from one line and color to the next.

I find my breeder RC dark brown x with white to be relatively calm.
 

Mini Horses

Herd Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
9,299
Reaction score
29,375
Points
728
Location
S coastal VA
The flighty personality is my concern plus the roos tend to be extremely aggressive. The heavy breeds are good for meat...we always get too many roos in a hatch, right?....they tend to be less likely to fly over fences, in general more docile, easy to contain and more likely to lay in winter, winter hardy, in general good foragers. My roos are good at alerting. I had two old Marans roos raising he// last evening, so went to check. Two cats screaming at each other....shooed them away and those boys stopped the alerts.

Yes, leghorns are great layers. I've felt a heavy breed roo with leghorn hens gave better crosses. Egg shell color, the leghorn roo will often clear the brown from green egg layers, for next generation hens, they say. I have some blue egg layers with leghorn in the mix, huge eggs, excellent layers. I have a blue egg roo whom I plan to pen with 4 of the hens...for hatching eggs. Hoping for more blue egg layers. The hens sell well, as do the mint green egg layers.

I don't worry about crosses, they do their job, I don't show.

I can see how the leghorn on Americaunas would work well. Hard to find those hens around here. Many have EEs trying to pass.
 
Last edited:

Bruce

Herd Master
Joined
Feb 4, 2016
Messages
17,435
Reaction score
45,775
Points
783
Location
NW Vermont
do you think crossing a steady, bigger breed with leghorns would help the egg production? Or not worth it?
I have two 23 month old Austra Whites from Meyer. Black Australorp crossed with a White Leghorn. Much more Leghorn shaped/sized than BA.

Those girls are LAYING MACHINES of nothing smaller than Large, very often XL and Jumbo eggs. I have no idea how a hen that small lays an egg that big. Aurora didn't bother to moult her first adult fall so she's been laying consistently since November 2019. Personally I think she should give herself a rest. Gretel did moult and occasionally goes broody but lays very well the rest of the time.
 

farmerjan

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 16, 2016
Messages
10,202
Reaction score
38,783
Points
748
Location
Shenandoah Valley Virginia
My S.C. Light Brown Leghorns were good layers for purebred show birds, and of course were not as flighty as some due to being handled. The hens would often set too and were pretty good mothers. The best mothers I have ever dealt with were the Standard size Old English Games that my ex and my DS raise.... Fierce mothers, very good at setting... There are strains of many breeds that are good broodies and some strains that are not. Granted leghorns are not known for being the best of setters, as most all that are in the Mediterranean class of chickens.
Never had any of the Austra Whites, always had the sex-link types for just plain layers and any cull hens from my show birds got a chance to just be "chickens."
 

Mini Horses

Herd Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
9,299
Reaction score
29,375
Points
728
Location
S coastal VA
Went to close coops earlier. Counted beaks...one short! Lifted lid to nest, there she was.,growling over six eggs from today! 🙄 Oh, no! Then on way back to house, see goat, in labor. Now there are twins on ground, mom doing her job. Weather good, I left them! It's been a day. ;)

Not sure the hen needs 3 more...14 is a lot already...17??? Will think on that a few. :)
 

Alaskan

Herd Master
Joined
May 9, 2017
Messages
5,366
Reaction score
12,588
Points
553
Location
Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
the roos tend to be extremely aggressive.
Eh.... my first set I had 10 males, 5 were horrid, but of the ten one was fine.

I kept the fine one, the others were eaten.

I cull heavy for perfect male temperament. But it is true, right out if the gate I had to cull hard to get to where I am today.
more likely to lay in winter,
I disagree. I find the Leghorns more likely to lay all winter.

winter hardy
They don't start to look truly miserable until -20F. Yes, even the skinny girls can fluff out like crazy.

However, your other points are dead on. They will fly out of anything without a top. There is very little meat on them.

I always thought that their flightiness made them better against predators.

I have a GREAT deal of predation. But my Leghorns have managed to raise several sets of chicks outside of the safety of the coop! Quite amazing.
 

Mini Horses

Herd Master
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
9,299
Reaction score
29,375
Points
728
Location
S coastal VA
Agree -- their flight response helps then in escape and even notice predators! These ISA type, heck, no instinct to run!! My largest losses have been them. My BYM, most have far better predator instinct, in general. Heavy breeds don't run as fast or fly as well but, seem more aware.
 
Top