The best laying hens - Italian Leghorn chickens, photo and description of the breed

It is interesting to know which species, egg or meat, Leghorn chickens belong to, a photo and description of the breed. We bought two dozen young chickens from hands in the spring, but their owner did not know the name. But I read it, it seems to be similar in description to Leghorn, but I'm not sure. They rush well, which means they are like eggs, but they just grew small and this confused me a little. How to recognize a breed?

Purebred breeds are highly prized, especially for ease of breeding and productivity. One of the best "thoroughbreds" are Leghorn chickens, a photo and description of which we will consider today. They came to the territory of the Soviet space only at the beginning of the 20th century, but quickly gained popularity. Moreover, both among large-scale poultry farms and in private farms. The first Leghorns appeared at the Italian breeders. Their goal was to obtain a breed with the highest possible egg production, even at the expense of other parameters. I must say, they did it. Thanks to crossing with crosses, one of the best egg breeds has emerged. And although chickens are not large in size, they grow very quickly and begin to rush early, and almost continuously.

Chickens Leghorn - photo and description

The birds are distinguished by an elongated body with the correct proportions. At the same time, they have a curved back and a convex wide sternum, like broilers, by which the breed can be recognized. The head is small, with a scarlet leafy scallop, the same color with earrings and yellowish lobes. In roosters, the comb is erect, in chickens it hangs on its side. This is another feature of the breed. Paws are slightly elongated, yellow in young animals and white in adults.

In the weight category Leghorns are significantly inferior to broilers. Roosters weigh a maximum of 2.5 kg, and chickens on average 1.5-1.8 kg. There is also a dwarf species of Leghorns. She retained all the productive characteristics, only the hens grow no more than 1.4 kg in weight, and the cockerel - 1.6 kg. It is very convenient to keep such birds in aviaries, moreover, they eat less.

Most often, you can find white Leghorns, but there are other colors:

• golden;
• spotted;
• brown;
• grayish.

The nature of the bird and the productivity of the breed

Chickens Leghorns are distinguished by a loud voice, but at the same time they themselves are afraid of noise and may even become depressed from fright. Usually they are friendly with neighbors, do not scandal and do not fight, unless it will be too crowded or too light in the chicken coop. But if the birds do not have enough protein feed, they can peck at each other.

Chickens grow quickly and begin to lay at the age of 5 months. For a year, a white layer gives more than 300 eggs, a brown one - about 250 pieces. Moreover, it continues to rush even during the molt period. The eggs are large, weighing up to 70 g, with white, yellow or brownish shells, depending on the specific color of the chickens.

The only major drawback of the breed is the complete absence of maternal instinct.

Features of breeding Leghorns

The main purpose of growing Leghorns is egg products. It is not profitable to keep them for meat, because, despite the accelerated development, the body weight of birds is not large. Considering that hens from such chickens are "none", to breed them, you need incubator. Or you can put eggs under a more "responsible mother" of another breed. Chickens have excellent immunity and about 95% survive.In addition, from five months they can already be fed with regular food, as for adult chickens. By the way, the latter also rarely get sick.

The Leghorns are most productive in the first year. In the second year of life, egg production decreases by 30%, and in the third - even more than 50%. Therefore, it is more expedient to update the livestock annually.

Leghorn - Best Layers