My new Leghorn cockerel

greenaus · **Posted:** Sun Sep 13, 2009 8:43 am

He's a dad...two chicks so far with Australorp mothers.

I was SURE they were due on Tuesday. About a third of the way through moving dozens of eggs down to the hatching shelf last night, I discovered a pipped one. Then another and another. I've noticed others since.

I opened the incubator a short while ago to discover two little chickens, including the one below.

Attachment:

File comment: The first chick hatched from my Leghorn cockerel over my Australorp pullets.

090913_first_LxA_chick.jpg [ 5.84 KiB | Viewed 965 times ]

greenaus · **Posted:** Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:22 am

There are 22 Leghorn X Australorp chicks. They are (for now) white/yellow with small black blotches like someone dripped ink on them. Photo below. Does anyone know how this colouring/blotching/whatever is likely to develop as they get older?

Attachment:

090915_firstlegorps.jpg [ 29.93 KiB | Viewed 949 times ]

Ann@Nanango · **Posted:** Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:14 am

Hi Charles

I had two chicks which had those little ink spots (much smaller than you have). And they are barred. They are cross breeds, but the Campine barring seems to come through. Unfortunately I didn't get a good piccy of her as a chick. I was more interested in the boy who was displaying distinctive Campine barring, but it's all gone now and he looks like a RIR. Go figure.

Cheers for now.

Ann

Fluffy_Feet · **Posted:** Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:55 pm

oh what a stunner.. he's gorgeous

greenaus · **Posted:** Wed Oct 07, 2009 1:04 am

If you're talking about the new Leghorn cockerel, yes, absolutely. He really is something.

In the unlikely event you were talking about the hen above, it's a girl. :-)

Regarding the girl in the pic above, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Ann. I only just noticed the post and the pic. I had pretty much decided the attempt to create barred chickens failed, so your post is a really good boost. Thanks.

I was sitting by the brooder watching these crosses and a bunch of Light Sussex for about half an hour around midnight (late at night is often when I water and feed) and picking the girls and the boys.

Another question still related to Leghorns and this thread, so I shouldn't get in trouble...

At 3-4 weeks the girls have tails and the boys do NOT...is that correct?

If so, to clarify, the boys have NO tail, right? Or can they have a very small tail?

As crossbreeds with no market, I am almost certainly going to dispose of the boys within the next week. Now that I know about the black dot = barring thing, I might keep a boy or three. Ann, do you remember at all if more dots or a bigger dot meant more or less barring?

glenn · **Posted:** Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:33 am

Hello Greenaus
This is what my hens look like from doing the same x

Fluffy_Feet · **Posted:** Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:34 pm

greenaus wrote:

If you're talking about the new Leghorn cockerel, yes, absolutely. He really is something.

In the unlikely event you were talking about the hen above, it's a girl. :-)

yes i was talking about the leghorn

greenaus · **Posted:** Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:08 am

AuntyAustralorp wrote:

They used a white leghorn over a black Australorp to make a russian breed (I think thats where it is) called a Potchefstroom Koekoek,

It was South African and Feathersite put the cross in that order, too.

I've just done a bit more research and...

After producing dozens of chickens with the Leghorn dad and Australorp mothers, I've discovered the cross needs to be reversed.

Big Rex is the only breeding age Australorp roo here now, but I do have a Blue Orpington boy, so I'll split the Leghorn girls between the two and settle for a few Blue offspring.

Prince -- the leghorn cockerel -- can look after Big Rex's girls for a while. I've already got plenty of pure leghorn chickens from him.

Elizabeth D Herbert · **Posted:** Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:01 pm

"Dead" is a lovely pullet I love the barring

greenaus · **Posted:** Fri Dec 25, 2009 1:50 am

greenaus wrote:

After producing dozens of chickens with the Leghorn dad and Australorp mothers, I've discovered the cross needs to be reversed.

Big Rex is the only breeding age Australorp roo here now, but I do have a Blue Orpington boy, so I'll split the Leghorn girls between the two and settle for a few Blue offspring.

Last week Brownie hatched out the only ones of these I have. (Yes, the same "Brownie" that hatched out chickens in September).

Photos are on the camera, but not in the gallery...yet. Someone please remind me after Christmas.

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