Leghorns
are one of the best known breeds of chicken. They produce the majority of the world's crop of large white eggs and is possibly the most important commercial egg producing breed in the world (certainly in America).
The utility White Leghorns we have are good producers. The White Leghorns were the colour variety which received most attention in the stock improvement era (20's - 50's), and we have got birds from some of the old lines.
Few of these lines now exist in the UK - most strains have been either bred without selection for egg numbers and quality or have been bred for the show ring. This concentration on feather and form frequently is associated with a drop in egg numbers.
Leghorns, especially the White ones, can be prodigious egg-layers and broodiness (the desire to hatch eggs) has almost completely been bred out of them. Leghorns are usually hatched out in incubators. A good utility White hen can lay in the vicinity of 250 eggs a year, however the light weight of this breed (males reach 6 pounds and females 4 1/2) makes it a poor choice if you are seeking a bird to provide meat for the table.
a young brown leghorn cockerel
The breed originated in Italy, but most of the colour varieties were developed in Great Britain, America and Denmark. It was formerly called the 'Italiana', but later renamed to 'Leghorn' after the city in Italy on the Ligurian Sea from where it was first shipped.
The Leghorn was first imported into America around 1835 and then later into England.
It has an excellent feed to egg conversion ratio and is one of the smaller standard breed chickens. They are alert, and lively. Their large flopped over combs and wattles, and upward stance give them a characteristic appearance. Leghorns are becoming much more popular for small scale poultry keeping, and are a worthwhile breed for this purpose.
The Black variety tends not to lay quite as well as the White, but is a striking bird.
For some reason the strain we have are particularly friendly - chosing to find people and share their space and time with them.
They are good layers of medium/large eggs, white in colour. It is sometimes suggested that the best utility strains in the 30's were produced with the help of Black Minorcas to improve the egg size. A cross with Rhode Island Reds was also popular. This produces mostly jet black birds.
Although they are not as productive as they were in the past - I have started finding old laying trials records - in 1934 there were Black Leghorns laying around 230 - 250 eggs a year; 200 is a more accurate expectation these days. The Brown seemed more varied from the little info I have got so far from 200 - 250 and the White, in 1934, seemed to average around 275.
One of the aims and responsibilities of all utility poultry owners nowadays is to ensure we concentrate more on the number of eggs our birds are laying - and improving it always.
