My Leghorn Experience: A Mixed Bag of Emotions

I've always had a soft spot for Leghorns - these prolific egg-layers have been around since the 19th century, originating in Italy.

Their egg-laying prowess is seriously impressive, with some sources claiming they can produce up to 300 eggs per year, while others say it's more like 300-330 eggs per hen.

Leghorns are small birds, weighing in at around a kilo or so, and they're easily recognizable by their big, flappy crest that hangs to one side. The roosters, on the other hand, have a more upright crest.

Now, I know what you're thinking - Leghorns come in a variety of colors, but in this review, I'm focusing on the white ones.

I picked up three young Leghorns from the market back in May 2020, and they've been a joy to have around.

I'm not entirely sure how old they were when I bought them, but they were definitely young - they started laying eggs on June 8th, just a few weeks after I brought them home.

Still learning to scratchWhen it comes to measuring the egg-laying performance of your flock, you want to aim for a minimum of 70% of your birds laying eggs on a daily basis. That's around 7 eggs per day from 10 birds, give or take. Of course, since eggs take a bit longer to form, it's more accurate to look at the numbers over a month.

My three girls have been a bit hit-or-miss, laying anywhere from 1 to 3 eggs per day. But over the course of a month, they've consistently delivered around 87 eggs - that's a whopping 96% of their potential!

Here are the numbers from my records:

June: 40 eggs (just started laying)

July: 87 eggs (hit their stride in the second month)

August: 87 eggs

September: 87 eggs

October: 85 eggs

November: 82 eggs

December: 72 eggs

January 2021: 81 eggs

February: 74 eggs

March: 81 eggs (started to see an uptick)

April: 85 eggs

May: 87 eggs

June: 81 eggs (one of the girls got a bit too close to the dog, and I had to replace her with a brown hen)

And let me tell you, it's been a wild ride!

I've had these Leghorns for over two years now, and they've consistently impressed me with their egg-laying abilities. For comparison, commercial farms typically only keep their hens for around 13 months.

The chicks are adorable (tiny combs and they're so white!)!They're hiding from the scorching heat

They're grazing with the kids

The flockI've been dealing with issues with my hens' eggs for the past year - they started laying soft-shelled or super-thick, shelly eggs. Sometimes they wouldn't even go into the coop at night and would drop their eggs on the ground. I had to retire one, then another...

WHY I WON'T BE BUYING LEGHORN CHICKENS ANYMORE:

Aggressive hens! They're constantly fighting each other, like roosters, with no apparent reason. They're strutting around, pecking, digging, and then - BAM! They're at each other's throats for 3 seconds! They'd peck each other's feathers, give each other a good head-butt, and then just walk away like nothing happened. One of my hens, Engry, was constantly bullied by the other two - they'd pick at her beautiful comb, and it was always a mess. She even started sleeping away from them at night.

Engry, the one who got bullied the most

Disappointing birds! They don't have that 'homely' aroma, and the skin isn't golden at all. I mean, you can't even try to bite into it! It's like they're made of wood. In this regard, the egg-laying crossbreeds are better: the skin is softer, golden, and has a richer fatty smell!They look terrible and unkempt after being let outside. We bought them white. Then they turned grey. The grey dirt on their feathers wouldn't even come off with a 'fairy' (yes, I tried using a sponge, don't laugh). They'd run around in every rainstorm searching for worms that poked out of the ground. And then, without drying off, they'd just lie in the dust. Plus, they'd dig in a ditch with their heads. As a host, I felt a bit embarrassed by these dirty birds!

This is what they turned into - that grey mess!

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WHO MIGHT LIKE LEGHORNS:

Leghorns are a breed, so if you multiply a Leghorn rooster by a Leghorn hen, you'll get Leghorn chicks. You want to hatch your own chicken-laying hens? Leghorns are a good choice! In fact, they're perfect for incubators.

In the breed description, it's mentioned that they don't have a brooding instinct. But one of my chickens tried to sit on eggs. As soon as I noticed, I dipped her in cold water and cooled her down.

With crossbreeds, no matter how good they are, this won't work. It's because crossbreeds are first-generation hybrids, and when you breed them, the traits will be split in the offspring. So, you won't get chicks with full characteristics of their parents.

ADVICE FOR THOSE WITH LEGHORNS (and not just them):

I've noticed that chickens shouldn't be expected to lay eggs during autumn and winter. At this time, they should start molting. But you can trick them. We give the hens LIGHT! Light, hitting the retina, stimulates the production of hormones that keep the laying process going. It's like we're fooling the birds: winter hasn't arrived, the days aren't shorter. So, molting gets delayed, and egg-laying continues.And don't bother heating the coop with a heater! Hens need light, not heat, to keep laying eggs. My girls lived in a cold, unheated room with only a red lamp (I didn't notice any issues with it, just the occasional electrical shock). But the 6W LED light ran from 6 am to 10 pm.

Stick to the recommended diet! A fat hen won't lay eggs actively, and might even stop laying altogether. Leghorns are egg-laying breeds. Find a recipe for a mash mix for egg-laying hens online and adjust it to your conditions.In summary, they're fed a standard 105g of dry feed per head (that's the recommended weight of dry matter). I gave them 70g per head during the summer, as they were free-ranging and getting occasional leftover bread and scraps. During winter, I increased it to at least 120g per head. Feed consumption increases at low temperatures. They also waste feed when they drink snow, as their bodies need to melt it first. I made sure to provide them with water instead. Yes, it would freeze, but I'd thaw it twice a day and replace it with fresh, warm water. They'd drink it greedily! The main staple for my Leghorns was a wet mash made from crushed grain mix, meat and bone meal, limestone, sunflower oil, and a vitamin-mineral supplement called 'Ryabushka'.

They wouldn't touch the oyster shells, ignored the clay baths, or the charcoal. They wouldn't eat whole grains, except for sunflower seeds. Since I gave them the recommended amount of limestone, I never had any issues with eggshell cracks.

WHY I STOPPED KEEPING CHICKENS:

I have to admit, raising my own chickens was a cost-effective option - my eggs were about 0.50 cents cheaper per unit compared to store-bought ones! But, of course, it came with its own set of daily responsibilities. I couldn't just leave the coop unattended for a month, and I had to be home every morning and evening to collect the eggs. And let's not forget about the added stress of checking the eggs frequently during winter to prevent them from freezing.

Breaking it down, in 2020, my cost per egg was approximately 5.3 rubles (excluding electricity costs). Meanwhile, store-bought eggs were selling for 6 rubles per unit, with occasional discounts bringing them down to 4 rubles. So, in the grand scheme of things, I didn't save much by raising my own chickens.

Now, I'll admit that the taste of my homemade eggs was definitely different from store-bought ones. But for me, the extra effort wasn't worth it. I've been running my small homestead for 7 years now, with a menagerie that includes chickens, ducks, rabbits, and even an occasional donkey. However, when I had a job nearby, it was easier to balance my daily routine with the demands of caring for my animals. After crunching the numbers, I realized that the cost-effectiveness of raising my own animals just wasn't there, so I made the decision to sell off my livestock in 2022 and focus on other pursuits.