ReproductionLeghorn chicken
Origin: The original Leghorn chickens came from Italy, according to the American standard of perfection, but the breed’s many sub-varieties originated or were developed in England, Denmark, and America. The different types of Leghorns were accepted into the standard between 1874 (Single-Comb Browns, White, Blacks) and 1933 (Rose-Comb Light and Rose-Comb Dark).
Varieties:
big bird: 1 comb (brown, white, black, orange, Colombiandark brown, light brown) comb and rosette (brown, white, light, dark) red-tailed, red-tailed black
Bantam: black, dark brown, silver, orange, light brown, white
Chicken leghorn facts
- print: active. Females are non-sitters.
- egg colour: white
- egg size: big
- Cultivate habits: very fruitful. 200-250 eggs will make for a good year.
- skin colour: yellow
- The size of a large bird: rooster, 6 pounds; cockerel, 5 pounds; chicken, 4.5 lbs.; bullet, 4 lbs.
- Bantam size: Rooster, 26 oz.; Cockerel, 24 oz.; chicken, 22 oz.; Pullet, 20 oz.
Standard descriptionLeghorn chickens consist of a group characterized by great activity, hardiness, and abundant egg-laying characteristics. Females are non-sitting, and a few show a tendency to brood. Apart from the diverse beauty points in type and color found in all Leghorn chickens as show specimens, their excellent productive qualities are valuable assets to the breed. Breeders, exhibitors and judges must observe the standard weight for Leghorn chickens.
comb: male: single; Soft to the touch, medium in size, straight and upright, hard and even on the head, with five distinct points, deeply serrated and extending well over the back of the head with no tendency to follow the shape of the neck; Smooth and free of twists, folds or growths. rose; Medium nares, square in front, firm and even on the head, tapering evenly from front to back and terminating in a well-developed elevation extending horizontally well back from the head; Flat, devoid of a hollow center, covered with small rounded points.
common use: eggs, meat and fair
It really isn’t a Leghorn chicken if: It is a brown egg layer that covers more than a third of the surface of the earlobe in young roosters and eggs and more than half in cocks and chickens; Males and females more than 20 percent above or below standard weights.
Quotes from the owner of Leghorn Chicken:
“It’s the cutest looking chicken.” – Ken Minville, Backyard poultryAugust-September 2013.
“The Leghorn chicken is one of my favorite breeds of chicken. I’ve had both white and brown Leghorns. They are hardy, inquisitive birds with tons of personality. They reliably produce great white eggs and are some of the best layers in my flock. When no one else is producing, Leghorns are still going strong.” – Pam Freeman at Pam’s Backyard Chickens
Learn about other chicken breeds from Backyard poultryincluding Orpington chickens, Marans chickens, Wyandotte chickens, Olive Egger chickens (hybrid breed), Ameraucana chickens, and many more.