California White Hen

[OC Chick]

Does anyone have any experience with California White Hens? I am adding 4 chicks to my original backyard flock (started with 5 girls and am now down to two - an Australorp & Easter Egger) and am considering a California White (I am also getting a Blue Australorp, Easter Egger, and a Black Copper Maran). My girls are definitely "pets," have a coop with a 21ft X 9ft X 6ft run, and also get a few hours of free range time daily in the front yard. The new chicks are coming to a feed store from Privett Hatchery and their California Whites are supposedly a cross between a California Grey male and a Leghorn female. They claim that the California Whites are friendly, quiet, and will lay a white egg.

Can you please tell me about your California Whites? What color egg do they lay for you (I've heard mixed reviews)? Pure white egg, cream egg, brown egg?Temperament? Noise level? Rate of lay? Ability to be held/cuddled? (Both of my hens are very friendly and curious, but my Australorp wants to be held/petted/cuddled daily and my EE tolerates it minimally). Any other pertinent or additional information about California Whites that I should know about? My Australorp is broody so I will be grafting the chicks to her this Friday.

Thanks!

 

[casportpony]

It's been years since I had them, but I thought they were good ones. Let us know if you get them and be sure to post lots of pictures!

 

[OC Chick]

I ended up with 1 California White, 1 Blue Australorp, 1 Ameracauna, and 1 Olive Egger. Grafting was a huge success. The little yellow head poking out is my California White - named Calla Lily "Cali" for short. She is a very adventurous chick and is not intimidated in the slightest. She will definitely be higher up in the pecking order. This morning she dug up a huge worm and was running all over the run with it in her mouth while her baby flock sisters chased her. She ran until she exhausted them and then happily ate her worm. I will post updates about temperaments/egg laying as I have not found a whole lot on this particular breed.

 

[OC Chick]

Update on my chicks I purchased at Kahoots in Ramona, California that came from Privett Hatchery since I found very little information about California White chickens when I was doing my research:

Hazel my Oliver Egger as far as I can tell is a cross between a Black Copper Maran Rooster and a Cream Legbar hen. She laid her first egg at 20 1/2 weeks.

Callie (Calla Lily) my California White just laid her first egg today at 21 1/2 weeks. It's white, with a slightly pinkish tint. It's a little elongated due to her taking hours to lay it. I have it against my Black Australorp's eggs so you can see the color.

Still waiting on my Blue Australorp and Easter Egger to lay in the next few weeks. All the girls are friendly, running to greet me when I go out back, and tolerate being held. My Easter Egger is the only one of the bunch who actually likes to be cuddled. I broke my leg a couple weeks after getting them, so they did not get much time being held when they were babies. They do all fly up to my lap if I go sit in the coop to give them treats. If they would have been held more, than they definitely all would be more cuddly. Still waiting on a final assessment of noise levels and laying rates as I think chickens need at least a month of laying to determine true personality and noise level, but overall I am really liking all my breeds. I will continue to post updates for those who have a small flocks and have to be very selective of the breeds they get due to space limitations.

 

[BleuSaphir]

I don’t know much about California White, I thought about them due to hearing they are less flightly than the Leghorns.

 

[OC Chick]

I don’t know much about California White, I thought about them due to hearing they are less flightly than the Leghorns.

So far my California White is friendly, fairly quiet, and gets along with the other girls. She holds her own in the flock but is not aggressive. As a chick she was a curious and a leader, definitely putting herself forward and not afraid of the older hens. She tolerates being petted/held/cuddled. I would definitely recommend them for a family wanting white eggs. My 6 hens are mostly kept in a 21x9 outdoor run with grazing boxes, but will free range in the backyard for an hour or two every day. She has not tried to escape or fly over the 6ft fence. I will post more about her.

 

[lbgreenfield]

I had one California White hen that we adopted last year that recently passed away (she was almost 5 and was very sick for a while).

I can honestly say she was the best chicken we have ever had. Smart, inquisitive, not flighty, loved to be held and petted, vocal when she was not happy that you took away your leftover breakfast from her (haha), and was so, so sweet. She loved to “assisting” my husband when he was working in our garage and was always there to “help” me in my garden.

She was such a great chicken and we miss her dearly. You will love having one in your flock!

 

[OC Chick]

I had one California White hen that we adopted last year that recently passed away (she was almost 5 and was very sick for a while).

I can honestly say she was the best chicken we have ever had. Smart, inquisitive, not flighty, loved to held and petted, vocal when she was not happy that you took away your leftover breakfast from her (haha), and was so, so sweet. She loved to “assisting” my husband when he was working in our garage and was always there to “help” me in my garden.

She was such a great chicken and we miss her dearly. You will one having one in your flock!

Thank you for sharing! She was beautiful! I too am really loving my California White hen. I can't believe how little information there is about the breed. I really appreciate you sharing your experience! Hugs to you for your chicken loss. It's devastating to lose a chicken.

 

[BleuSaphir]

Thank you for sharing! She was beautiful! I too am really loving my California White hen. I can't believe how little information there is about the breed. I really appreciate you sharing your experience!

I think not on much large scale hatcheries website either. Only maybe one or three I can think of. Which is surprising since this breed or type is a good egg layer.

 

[lbgreenfield]

Thank you for sharing! She was beautiful! I too am really loving my California White hen. I can't believe how little information there is about the breed. I really appreciate you sharing your experience! Hugs to you for your chicken loss. It's devastating to lose a chicken.

Thank you I think that since the Cali White is a leghorn-mix, people automatically assume that they will be dumb, flighty, and not a good addition to a flock. Not the case at all, and that goes for all leghorns and leghorn mixes! They can be such great additions to your flock full of personality and quirks. I’m glad your hen is doing well so far!