Leghorns are very active, hardy, and prolific large white egg layers. White Leghorns are among the most popular commercial strains of layer chickens worldwide. The Single Comb White Leghorn variety is the most popular of the Leghorn breed and is the best known of all white egg breeds. All of the white eggs at the grocery store come from white Leghorns. White Leghorn Chickens lay the largest white eggs, lay at the highest rate and are the most efficient of all breeds. Leghorns are active and efficient foragers. They tend to be nervous and flighty. Leghorns are preferred by laboratories for embryonic and avian biological research.
Leghorn Chicks for sale February to November: White Leghorns and danish brown leghorn pullets for sale.
Leghorn Chicks for sale: Hatching February to June Exchequer Leghorns, Red Leghorns, Dark Brown Leghorns, Light Brown Leghorns, Barred Leghorns, Buff Leghorns, Black Leghorns, Silver Leghorns
Standardized Colors: Single Comb Dark Brown Leghorn, Single Comb Light Brown Leghorn, Rose Comb Dark Brown Leghorn, Rose Comb Light Brown Leghorn,Single Comb White, Rose Comb White Leghorn, Single Comb Buff Leghorn, Rose Comb Buff Leghorn, Single Comb Black Leghorn, Single Comb Silver Leghorn, Single Comb Red Leghorn, Single Comb Black Tailed Red Leghorn, Single Comb Columbian Leghorn.
American Poultry Association Class: Mediterranean Chicken Class
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy Conservation Status: Recovering
Producton: Leghorn Chickens are the best egg producers laying about 300 white eggs per year. Leghorns are non-sitters meaning they do not go broody. The egg industry today relies primarily on white leghorns for the eggs sold in grocery stores and used in restaurants. I was recently asked how well do brown leghorns lay? High productivity is a quality shared by brown and white leghorns alike, and while the brown's different colors make her undesirable to the factory farmer, for the smallholder they are an asset. We do reccomend raising leghorn friers as we do have a good price on leghorn males from February to August. Leghorn fryers are a delicous textured chicken! Raising white leghorn chickens is the cheapest bird to raise for egg laying. When do they lay? White Leghorn hens start laying at around 18 weeks.
Type: The standard weight of Leghorns is very important. Leghorns have yellow skin.
Standard Weights Cock: 6 lbs. Hen: 4.5 lbs. Cockerel: 5 lbs. Pullet: 4 lbs.
History: Leghorns originated from Italy, but its many sub-varieties were developed in England, Denmark, and America. The first birds imported to America in 1853 were called Italians. By 1865 the breed was named Leghorn, likely an Anglicization of Ligurian in reference to the Ligurian Sea ports from whence they were exported. Widely bred in New England from that time onward, they were first called "leghorns" at Worcester, Massachusetts in 1865. This was a time when Americans were exploring the potentials of breeds from around the world to improve the domestic stock. Lightweight, active Mediterranean breeds, such as the leghorn, the minorca and the ancona were highly sought after for the year round production of white eggs. In those days the farm flock produced meat for the table as well. The leghorn breed, although not extremely fleshy, provided high quality, fast growing fryers for Sunday dinner. In fact, through 1938 the Pullman Coach Company bought only brown leghorn cockerels for fried chicken served in their dining cars. To ensure the purity of each valuable type of chicken, breeders elected in 1871 to agree upon breed Standards and to organize poultry shows at which the individual birds could be judged against each other according to these accepted Standards. By the turn of the century competition at these shows was intense. Equally intense were the laying contests held to determine the most productive breeds and strains. Some brown leghorn flocks were able to hold their own in both.In 1920 a brown leghorn won the Great American Egg Laying Contest with offspring from show birds that had won Best Display three years in a row at the nation's biggest poultry show at Madison Square Garden.
Status: Pure bred Leghorn varieties are less common. Both the American Poultry Association (APA) and the American Bantam Association (ABA) recognize a number of Leghorn varieties including white, red, black tailed red, light brown, dark brown, black, blue, buff, Columbian, buff Columbian, barred, exchequer and silver. Most have single combs but there are several color varieties that have rose combs.
The ABLC: The American Brown Leghorn Club was formed in 1901 declaring as its three objectives "to increase interest and demand for high quality brown leghorns; to disseminate information on reliable and successful methods of breeding, raising and management; to bring about united efforts, harmony, integrity and good fellowship in promoting the interests of brown leghorns." The club entertains special meets at poultry shows around the country and hosts an annual national meet which travels to a different region of the U.S. each year. In addition, the ABLC sponsors programs to interest people in brown leghorns and help get them started. Such programs include sources of stock and hatching eggs, newsletters, yearbooks, advertisements in various publications, and the distribution of fact-filled brochures.
Red Leghorns have rich, brilliant red plumage color combined with a graceful carriage, sweeping tail, white ear lobes, and yellow shanks and toes. Red Leghorn Chicks are a reddish brown and many have darker specks and markings on the back.
