The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[NagemTX]

I'm not knocking a blue-green egg laying bird. I love blue, blue-green, green, olive. I'm all about getting the different colored eggs. I may have been incorrect in stating that if a bird lays green, it isn't Ameraucana. That is only merely what I have heard, but I have never raised them aside from owning a couple here and there as layers over the years so I don't know what the breed requirements and standard or anything like that is for them. So if I was incorrect in my statement, I apologize.

It's ok I'm just picky on Ameraucana. Im in both clubs. Currently working on silvers and then two types of EE from that. Those are crested EE and long tailed EE.

 

[KF0002]

It's ok I'm just picky on Ameraucana. Im in both clubs. Currently working on silvers and then two types of EE from that. Those are crested EE and long tailed EE.

I bet the long-tailed EE are glorious!

 

[Iluveggers]

It's ok I'm just picky on Ameraucana. Im in both clubs. Currently working on silvers and then two types of EE from that. Those are crested EE and long tailed EE.

I’ll have to remember this if I have questions in a few years!

Eventually I want to breed Ameraucanas, but we can’t have a rooster. We are hoping to move to the farm once my boy graduates (has 2 years left of HS). If we leave now he has to switch school districts. We have a few roosters in the family farm flock, but aren’t in charge of poultry there right now. Getting to the point to passing down the reigns and we want to expand animals on site and specialize a bit in chicken breeds. I am learning so much just lurking here!

 

[KF0002]

I’ll have to remember this if I have questions in a few years!

Eventually I want to breed Ameraucanas, but we can’t have a rooster. We are hoping to move to the farm once my boy graduates (has 2 years left of HS). If we leave now he has to switch school districts. We have a few roosters in the family farm flock, but aren’t in charge of poultry there right now. Getting to the point to passing down the reigns and we want to expand animals on site and specialize a bit in chicken breeds. I am learning so much just lurking here!

I enjoy having several different breeds of chickens around. All the different colors, body types, egg colors and personalities make it more fun. I like utility chickens that are either excellent layers like Leghorns and Legbars or dual purpose birds like Speckled Sussex we can also use for meat. I love bantams so much, but we no longer keep them because they just aren't practical. It is good you are doing your research, so when the time comes you can pick the breeds that will suit your needs the most.

 

[Iluveggers]

I enjoy having several different breeds of chickens around. All the different colors, body types, egg colors and personalities make it more fun. I like utility chickens that are either excellent layers like Leghorns and Legbars or dual purpose birds like Speckled Sussex we can also use for meat. I love bantams so much, but we no longer keep them because they just aren't practical. It is good you are doing your research, so when the time comes you can pick the breeds that will suit your needs the most.

Thanks!

I have a flock of hens now (just no roosters), and we have a little of this and a little of that. Have an idea of what breeds I am drawn to, and will probably keep one flock at the farm of a lovely mix of breeds, and another with just 1-2 breeds. Having 2 different egg color breeds w the same rooster, I’ll be able to tell which are the purrs and which will be mixes. If I go w Ameraucana roosters in both flocks, and only keep Ameraucanas as blue egg layers, it should be easy (I think).

Would love to try some leghorn crosses, so this thread has been very helpful in figuring out color & pattern possibilities!

 

[KF0002]

Thanks!

I have a flock of hens now (just no roosters), and we have a little of this and a little of that. Have an idea of what breeds I am drawn to, and will probably keep one flock at the farm of a lovely mix of breeds, and another with just 1-2 breeds. Having 2 different egg color breeds w the same rooster, I’ll be able to tell which are the purrs and which will be mixes. If I go w Ameraucana roosters in both flocks, and only keep Ameraucanas as blue egg layers, it should be easy (I think).

Would love to try some leghorn crosses, so this thread has been very helpful in figuring out color & pattern possibilities!

I have mated a Legbar rooster to white leghorn hens in the past and produced "Super Blue Egg Layers" or Sapphires as the hatcheries marketed them (they may still sell that hybrid, not sure), but they were egg laying machines very comparable to White Leghorns, and laid a ton of pale blue eggs. I will always recommend having a few Leghorns in a layer flock. My point is, any rooster you put over Leghorn hens will produce nice hybrid layers, including Ameraucauna x Leghorn.

 

[KF0002]

My male Legbars with smaller crests produce daughters with tiny barely there crests when mated to a non-crested breed. In Legbars you sacrifice good crests on the males to get a good straight, non-twisted comb, but I prefer a nicer comb to a nicer crest on the males. Then I select females with nice big crests as breeders to kinda keep things balanced.

Here is a Legbar/Game cross “weed hatched” hen as we call them. You can see how tiny her crest is. So @The Moonshiner, the crests won’t be bad at all to breed out of the Crele Leghorn project birds.

 

[Amer]

My male Legbars with smaller crests produce daughters with tiny barely there crests when mated to a non-crested breed. In Legbars you sacrifice good crests on the males to get a good straight, non-twisted comb, but I prefer a nicer comb to a nicer crest on the males. Then I select females with nice big crests as breeders to kinda keep things balanced.

Here is a Legbar/Game cross “weed hatched” hen as we call them. You can see how tiny her crest is. So @The Moonshiner, the crests won’t be bad at all to breed out of the Crele Leghorn project birds.

View attachment 4085320

I honestly think that makes it harder because then a bird can appear not to be crested and have the gene and pass it on to the offspring XD

 

[The Moonshiner]

I honestly think that makes it harder because then a bird can appear not to be crested and have the gene and pass it on to the offspring XD

This is true. These Leghorn X Legbar produced both non crested and small crested offspring.
They weren't F1 crosses and were breed towards eliminating the crests.

 

[KF0002]

I honestly think that makes it harder because then a bird can appear not to be crested and have the gene and pass it on to the offspring XD

This is true. These Leghorn X Legbar produced both non crested and small crested offspring.
They weren't F1 crosses and were breed towards eliminating the crests.
View attachment 4085331View attachment 4085332

Since these are project birds that will be bred back to Leghorn many times over before ever being considered a true “Crele Leghorn” I won’t be selling any or anything, so no risk in any crested birds leaving my hands.

The F1B crosses (Legbar/Leghorn birds backcrossed to Leghorn) should produce half crested and half non-crested offspring. So not the 1st generation, but the second. All offspring from the F1 crosses produced this year from the initial Legbar/Leghorn cross will be hetero for crests, even if their crest are just a tiny ones.