Everyone remembers "Foghorn Leghorn!" He's the most famous Leghorn rooster and always made me laugh growing up.
The Leghorn chickens' egg-laying prowess, savvy attitudes, and bold personalities made them one of the most common purebred fowl in America. The experts at Backyard Chicken Coops love those white eggs. This breed is known for laying 300 eggs a year!
"We love Leghorn chickens, and not just for their ability to lay generously sized, bright white eggs on a regular basis."
With this in mind, the number of eggs is just one of the major reasons chicken keepers love this breed. You may think white is the only color they come in but there are a variety of colors like black, brown and buff!
Reasons to love them
They come in many different colors and patterns so while you may think of the white color with the red comb there are so many varieties!
In addition to their beauty, they're happy in hot or cold weather. Honestly, having birds that you don't have to worry about in the heat or cold is a huge benefit.
You may need to add some vaseline to their combs if you're worried about frostbite, but these birds are known to be cold hardy birds.
Like Wyandottes, they love to forage! This is one of my favorite qualities of all my chickens and it makes it much easier to determine when one is sick or under the weather.
History
These chickens are originally from Italy. Thanks to the Leghorn chickens' natural ability to lay an egg, they have been used as the base breed for commercial hybrid chicken development and breeds mixed with Leghorn are sold for superior egg production.
ISA Browns and Australorps are also known to be wonderful layers, but the Leghorn chicken is known to be at the top of the list with these two popular breeds.
Top qualities
Roy's Farm tells us that most Leghorn chickens have single rose-colored combs.
- Leghorn chickens have white ear-lobes and their legs are bright yellow.
- Breed temperament? They're known to be friendly, bears confinement well, calm, flighty, noisy, shy and very active.
- They come in a large variety of colors: Barred, Black, Blue, Buff, Buff Columbian, Dark Brown, Exchequer, Light Brown, White and Silver.
- This chicken breed is easy to handle and they lay bright white eggs.
The number of eggs they lay are reason enough for me to add some Leghorn hens to our flocks!
Egg production
Leghorn chickens lay big white eggs and they are highly efficient. Leghorn hens lay an average of 280 eggs per year and sometimes reaching 300-320. The breed's main purpose is egg-laying, not meat, so make sure this is your priority!
If you plan to sell your eggs to the community than a few Leghorn chickens are a great addition to your existing flocks.
Check out some of the pics on Instagram of their large white eggs. The egg size is very impressive. The white egg color is a nice complement to have in your basket of brown, pink and green eggs.
Those interested should contact the American Poultry Association for reputable breeders and hatcheries.
With that in mind, these foragers may enjoy free-ranging since they're so active. Do some research before you add this breed but also check with the hatchery about the color varieties you'll end up with if the white leghorn is what you're hoping for in your flock.
The brown Leghorn chickens are beautiful, though!
Know someone who would like to add this chicken breed to their flock? Tell us in the comments below!
