4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[helenmb]

I'm hoping for a bit of advice about Leghorns.

 

I am going to pick up some new girls next week and so far have chosen

1 x Speckled Sussex

1 x Cream Legbar

 

Plus we wanted a Leghorn. The farm have the following to choose from but I can't find much about the non-white variety. They have:-

 

Splash Leghorn

Buff Mottled Leghorn

White Leghorn

 

Has anyone come across or got either a Buff or Splash and if so what are they like and what colour

do they lay. Even better, if you have any piccies you can post then that would be fantastic.

 

Getting excited about the and new arriving next week but thought I'd do a bit of research before I choose my Leghorn.

 

Hope you can help

Edited November 4, 2008 by Guest

[katieandnick]

Can't comment about the other two types, but we've got two white leghorns, and they're fab! Splendid comb-over combs, really nice personalities, and lovely white eggs!

[Louisdog]

I think all leghorns lay white eggs.

 

My friend has a marans cockerel who is Splash coloured and he is white with lots of grey-black splash markings (like big splashes of paint). Hard to describe. He is very handsome looking though

[quickcluck]

Can you not get one of each????

[helenmb]

Hi QuickCluck

 

I can only choose one as I have already ordered 2 other breeds and I only have space (at the moment!) for 6 in total. I want to leave some space for a Wyandotte too

[Snowy]

I agree they should lay white eggs. In every breed there are standard colours, and non standard colours that may be the results of a breeder trying to develop new colours. It could be that that is what has happened with the splash and buff muffled, as I've never seen them used before. I think the standard leghorns are white, brown, exchequer and black. Whites are supposed to be the best layers.

[jools+6]

far as i know leghorns have white eggs . thats what america use , cross , breed etc . rhode islands are what we use , brown eggs .

[BeckyBoo]

Hi there, here's our exchequer leghorn (sadly now deceased) which I think is the same as a splash but stand to be corrected

 

 

I think she was a one off as she hardly EVER laid eggs (think she was old when we got her) and she was spectacularly unfriendly, but when she could be bothered to lay her eggs were a beautiful pure white!

 

A rather stunning bird though!

 

Mrs B

[ruth1]

Ive got what Im calling a buff mottled , her parents were a buff Cockerel and a red mottled hen, shes a pretty girl but really unfriendly and is laying off white coloured eggs.

 

 

This is her about 4 weeks ago before laying she looks more impressive now and has a huge flopped over comb.

[Louisdog]

Mrs Bertie

 

Your exchequer leghorn looks similar/the same as a splash, to my untrained eye at least. She was lovely looking

 

Cheers

Alex

[Snowy]

I was wondering if the splash may have been a watered down exchequer. The exchequers at our local breeder are not as nicely marked as your girl Mrs B. The other thing to consider is that white egg layers are more flighty than brown layers, as anyone who has a loopy whitestar (basically a white leghorn) will tell you. Mine is always raiding the veg patch and flower beds, despite wing clipping. Lovely hen, but I've never been able to handle her except when I catch her on the nest - and then she pecks me!

[helenmb]

Thanks for the advice so far. I suspect that the two I have highlighted in my original post may possibly be bantums as I know that the farm does have lots of bantums (when I phoned yesterday I didn't say I wanted large fowl which I should have done).

 

My Silver Sussex is very flighty too so she'll have some company then if this is what the leghorns are like. She is an amazing flyer and quite loopy too. She should be a member of the Red Arrows team

 

I suppose the next question is what names for me to choose. I have kept a list as I think of them so have some great ones, think I'll wait until I see them until I decide.

[Louisdog]

I got my white star at the same time as my bluebelle and she was way flightier, however I had them in quarantine together for a few days and I picked her up every night then, plus sat with them for half an hour a couple of times a day, and now she will eat out of my hand, she's not easy to pick up though!

 

Can't advise on names as we are rubbish at them - for example for the aforementioned Bluebelle and White Star we came up with the stunning names "Belle" and "Flappy" (guess which is which )

[helenmb]

Well, I made my decision last Friday when we went to pick up the new girls. The breeder had collected 4 girls for me to look at:-

 

Splash Leghorn

Buff Mottled Leghorn

Speckled Sussex

Cream Legbar

 

Well, I couldn't leave one behind could I, so I looked adoringly at my DH and he said "yes, you can have all 4" . You can imagine how chuffed I was.

I have already added a post over the weekend about what a great day Friday was but thought I'd update those of you who took the time to add a post to my thread. So here they are:-

 

Pearl the Splash Leghorn (rather grubby in this picture as she'd just had a wettish dust bath!) . She was hatched from a so she may well lay a blue egg too we are told.

 

 

 

Marigold the Buff Mottled Leghorn - the baby of the group. She is very delicate looking and can fly really high!

 

 

 

Dorabella the Speckled Sussex who doesn't stand still for long enough for me to get the best picture.

 

 

 

Evadne the Cream Legbar who we hope will give us lovely blue eggs. My DH loves her little feathery hat!

 

 

 

There are lots more pictures of them that I took today in my Gallery albums. Hope you like them as much as I do!

[Scramble]

They are gorgeous!!!

I love each and everyone of them!

 

so, er, can I have them for Christmas...?

x

[keyhole kate]

What beauties

makes me broody never mind the chickens

[alih]

What beauties! I like Dorabella's colouring especially

[Louisdog]

They are all lovely glad you were allowed all 4