Leggorn - a breed of chickens, reviews of which the owners of farms and homesteads are extremely positive, has been bred in our country since the 20s of the last century. This is a very unpretentious bird of the egg direction of productivity. Leghorn is grown not only in small farms, but also in large poultry farms.
Breed history
In the middle of the 19th century, very unpretentious chickens with white feathers were brought to the USA from Italy. Since they were delivered from the port of Livorno, the Americans called them in their own way - “Leghorn”. In addition to unpretentiousness and undemanding to the diet, these other birds did not differ in any other particularly outstanding qualities. Long-term breeding work carried out in the USA made it possible to obtain chickens capable of carrying up to 300 eggs per year. Today it is one of the most common breeds in the world, considered to be exactly American. In the United States, leghorns account for about 95% of the total livestock grown in the country. The photo below shows a typical modern leggorn rooster.
These hens were brought into Russia first in 1925-27, and then in 1946. Subsequently, they were used to breed and produce highly productive crosses.
Hens Leghorn: Description
Most often, leghorns with a white feather are bred in the farms of our country. However, there are quite a lot of varieties of the breed of this bird; therefore, on the farms and poultry farms it is sometimes possible to meet leggorn brown, fawn, motley, blue and even black. At the moment, there are about twenty variations of the color of the feather of chickens of this breed. The main distinguishing features of all leggorn without exception are:
- Leaf-shaped crest of bright red color. At hens, it hangs on its side; at males, it is erect.
- A neat head of medium size and a fairly long, not thick neck.
- Light skeleton and wide chest.
- Dense plumage.
- The tail, standing at an angle of 30-40 gr.
In young chickens, leghorn legs are yellow, in older individuals it is white.
Productivity
Leghorn is a breed of chickens, reviews of which allow us to talk about it as a very unpretentious and productive, bred mainly for eggs. In any case, the birds are not too large. The chicken weighs about 1.5-2 kg, the cockerel - 2.3-2.6 kg. In terms of egg production, this breed is significantly superior to most other, more heavy ones.
Leghorn laying hens alone can carry up to 300 eggs per year. Of course, only with a properly composed diet and good conditions. But in any case, less than 150-200 eggs per year, these hens rarely carry. Their weight can be 56-58 grams. The eggshell color of this breed of eggs is white.
Leghorn meat is not bred. However, after a drop in egg production (usually they have not been kept for more than two years), the bird is, of course, slaughtered. The carcasses of chickens of this breed differ in white skin and have a fairly attractive neat appearance - without dark stumps and cyanosis. At a young age, only extra leggorn males are killed. Their skin has a natural yellowish tint.
There is a very interesting variety of chickens of this breed - dwarf leghorn. These are very small, but also highly productive birds. A layer of dwarf leghorn weighs about 1.2-1.4 kg, a cockerel - 1.4-1.7 kg. Breeding eggs - 210-260 pcs. in year.
Breeding
Leghorns belong to the precocious breed of chickens and start to race as early as 4.5-5.5 months. Males are very active and fertile. Therefore, it is not necessary to keep too many of them on the farm. These chickens have no instinct for incubation. Fertilization of eggs - 95%. The yield of young animals is 88-92%. Chickens are born active, viable and already by the age of two weeks begin to fledge.
Leghorn (breed of chickens): reviews
The opinion of Russian farmers about this breed is traditionally very good. Since these hens weigh little, respectively, and there is not much feed to spend on them. Moreover, they carry eggs much more than many other breeds. Many owners of household plots include brown shells as the advantages of leggorn chickens. Currently, mostly white eggs can be found in stores and markets. Browns are considered a kind of "exotic" and are bought up more than willingly.
The lack of instinctive instinct is even a breed plus. Incubators today are very inexpensive, because chicks can always be bred independently if desired. At the same time, the owners of the Leghorn are completely spared the problems with reduced productivity when trying to lay eggs on chickens.
The dense plumage of these chickens allows them to breed them, including in regions with a continental climate. The Leggors earned good reviews from the owners of personal plots in most regions of our country - from the Caucasus to Siberia.
Cross-country
Leghorn chickens, the description of which was given above, are nowadays actively used as a parent breed in breeding highly productive crosses. The most popular hybrids received include:
- Rhodonite. The creation of this cross engaged in 1989-1995 at the Sverdlovsky GPP. Rhodonite chickens carry up to 296 eggs per average laying hen per year. At the moment, their share in our country accounts for about 40% of the total population.
- P46. Japanese, Canadian, and Dutch were the parent breeds of this hybrid. P46 laying hens can lay up to 260 eggs per year.
- Broken white. Hens of this hybrid are characterized by very high egg production and feed conversion, but are quite demanding on the conditions of detention.
There are many other hybrids and crosses that were created using Leghorn chickens. Each of them has its own advantages and a huge number of adherents - owners of household plots and farms.
Content Features
Leghorn is a breed of chickens, reviews of which, therefore, are certainly positive. Since this bird does not differ in large size, it is not necessary to build too spacious a barn for it. The same goes for walking. It will be enough to fence a small area near the house with a netting netting. As with most other breeds, perches, nests and feeders should be set up for leghorns. The former are located at a height of about 80 cm from the floor, on the opposite side from the window. Nests can be nailed to the wall of the barn. It is best to place them at the perch level and in close proximity to them.
A window in the barn should be required. For Leghorn chickens, light and fresh air are needed for good development and increased productivity. Of course, the shed should be kept clean. Leghorn - a hardy bird, quite resistant to disease. However, the lack of fresh air, the smell of ammonia, a large amount of feces, etc., can lead not only to a decrease in egg production, but also to an outbreak of an epidemic.
Cell content
Normally tolerated by domestic chicken leggorn and content in the cells. In this case, you can save even more space. These hens weigh very little, and therefore feel great, including on the mesh floor. Of course, you need to make it inclined and arrange an egg tray outside the cage. A feeder and a drinking bowl are usually hung on the door, and the distance between the rods is made so that the chicken can easily stick its head between them.
Feeding Features
Leghorn chickens are usually given food three times a day. In the mornings and evenings, you can put dry cereals (wheat, barley, etc.) into the feeders, with special purchased additives mixed in them, as well as a small amount of chalk and salt.
In the afternoon they make mixers. In the summer they rub carrots, raw potatoes, beets, apples, cut cabbage. Nettle and quinoa can also be added. Very useful for chickens are carrot and beet tops. If desired, grated squash can also be mixed. Be sure to add a little bran to the mixers. Meat and bone meal will not be superfluous .
Egg incubation
Particularly well, Leghorn chicken is carried in the first year of keeping. In the second, productivity is slightly reduced. To keep these chickens for more than two years, most homeowners consider it inappropriate. Therefore, one year old laying hens need to collect eggs and lay them for incubation. Only smooth ones should be selected, without cracks and growths, of medium size.
The shells of the most popular white leghorns are almost transparent. Therefore, it will not be difficult to identify spoiled eggs of chickens of this breed with an ovoscope. When scanned, first of all, pay attention to the yolk and the air chamber. The first must be whole. With a good egg, when turning over, it slightly moves to the side and immediately returns to its place. The air chamber should be located at the blunt end. Those eggs in which it is strongly biased are rejected.
Incubation is carried out in the usual manner. That is, the necessary temperature and humidity conditions are observed.
Chick Care
Leghorn chicks hatch for 21 days. They are left in the incubator until fluff dries. Then the chicks are transplanted into a nursery. As the latter, you can use, for example, a large cardboard box.
In most cases, small leggorn chickens, like any other breed, are fed with cottage cheese and boiled yolk. However, some poultry farmers have recently abandoned this practice, considering such food for chickens, albeit very small, unnatural. Instead of eggs and cottage cheese, they advise feeding the chickens “Start for Laying” food specially designed for them. Since the chicks eat very little, buying a balanced meal, of course, will not cause any special expenses. You can also give chickens finely chopped corn, wheat and oatmeal.
In the first ten days, the chicks are fed 5-6 times a day. By a month, the frequency of feedings is reduced to three times. From the age of four days, the chicks begin to give finely chopped greens, mixing it with the main feed. It is also very useful for small chickens to give small crushed eggshells. On the fifth day, you can start adding a little chalk to the food.
Monthly chickens can already be given potatoes, carrots and beets. Belonging to the breed white leggorn chickens - the birds are not particularly whimsical. But it’s very important to follow the rules for making a “menu” for chicks.
This is especially true for the diet of dwarf leghorn chickens. If there are too many proteins in the “menu”, the chicks' legs will curl up and they will die.
When growing small chickens, it is very important to observe the correct temperature regime. In the first five days, chicks contain at t 30-35 gr. By the age of two months, it is gradually reduced to 16-18 gr.
In the first 7 days of life, nurseries should be lit for at least 20 hours a day. The following weeks - 18 hours. You can let chicks walk from a week of age, in a place protected from sunlight, and for a very short time. For the whole day for a walk, chickens can be released starting from the eighth week of life.
Care Features
Leghorn laying hens are kept with the following recommendations:
- Humidity in the house should not be less than 60%. The lowest threshold is 45%. If the air in the chicken coop is too dry, the chickens will begin to die. Of course, a strong increase in humidity cannot be allowed. Ventilation in the house, as already mentioned, is mandatory.
- In hens, especially if the barn is not too clean, parasites often start. In this case, the bird begins to actively pull out feathers. Many owners of household plots put special containers with ash in chicken coops. However, specially developed preparations for this are considered to be a much more effective way of ridding chickens of parasites. They are simply added to the feed.
- Temperature extremes must not be allowed in the house. This affects egg production. In addition, chickens can get sick. Despite good health, he does not like the bird of this breed and drafts.
Leghorn's feather is quite dense, and so they are not too afraid of colds. Heating in the barn is not necessary. However, it is also impossible to allow the temperature in the house to drop too low in winter. In order for the chickens to be warm, it is imperative to spread the floor with a thick layer of straw, hay and sawdust (about 40 cm). In the cold season, this litter will act as a natural heater. In it, various kinds of biological processes will begin to occur, accompanied by the release of heat. The only thing is to ensure that no crust forms on top.
The cost of chickens and chickens
An incubation egg or leggorn chickens can be bought from private traders or at a poultry farm breeding this breed. These are actually very popular and common chickens. The price for them is therefore not too high. An incubation egg, for example, costs about 35 rubles. For chickens, they usually ask 60-70 rubles. for adult hens - 300 p.
So, the conclusion from the foregoing can be drawn as follows. Leggorn - chickens for which the price is not too high - the breed is very good. Keeping this bird is profitable due to the high feed conversion, vitality and excellent egg production.