Discussion on BLACK leghorns for UTILITY purposes!

[Thomas Lamprogiorgos]

Hello, everyone!
How do you do?
Greetings from Greece.

I am starting to create a flock of leghorns again. I am thinking to focus on black color, because it handles better:

1. predators
   
2. cold
3. predators
   
4. my love for chickens

At the moment my flock contains:

• one black italianer cockerel
• two black italianer pullets
• one isabella italianer pullet
• ten hy-line w-80 pullets
• ten dominant leghorn d-229 pullets
  
  According to the chicken calculator and friends of mine who know genetics, the isabella will give me 50% solid black color and 50% black with a bit "copper ground gold" color in the feathers. I don't breed for color perfection, so it isn't a problem for me.
  
  My first question is: Will I take yellow legs when cross isabella to my black boy?
  
  Whites now. They are dominant whites, I know. This is bad. They are smaller than the italianer strains too. I know this is bad. But, I need their unbeatable laying qualities. Hy-lines are better in feed consumption and feed utilization. Dominants have the best tempeament, forage better, convert free range in feed and lay huge eggs. Let's come closer to the point.
  
  My boy if crossed to the commercial whites will give white f1 chickens with some black feathers. I will corn raise the males in order to not spend a lot of money for their feed and slaughter them in about 4 months after hatch.
  
  I want to cross the f1 females again to a black italianer rooster or to a british type black leghorn rooster.
  
  My second question is: Will I take at least at 50% solid black color by this cross?

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

Oh, @moonshiner

 

[Thomas Lamprogiorgos]

Oh, @moonshiner

Moonshiner is by far the most expert in leghorns.

 

[Thomas Lamprogiorgos]

My cockerel and pullets

 

[Thomas Lamprogiorgos]

My alpha cockerel, my handsome boy and a dominant black d 109 hybrid pullet.

 

[alwaysthere4chickens]

Never heard of Black leghorns Before.

 

[Thomas Lamprogiorgos]

Never heard of Black leghorns Before.

Yes, black leghorns do exist, but they are extremely rare and it is extremely hard to make their leg color pure yellow, because they derive from Spanish breeds that have black legs.

I want to emphasize on utility characteristics.

 

[Maiahr]

@Thomas Lamprogiorgos I am not an expert in Leghorns, neither in genetics, but I have been trying to find black Leghorns here and I am not able to. So off topic, I was wondering what is the difference between Minorca and Black Leghorn?

 

[Thomas Lamprogiorgos]

@Thomas Lamprogiorgos I am not an expert in Leghorns, neither in genetics, but I have been trying to find black Leghorns here and I am not able to. So off topic, I was wondering what is the difference between Minorca and Black Leghorn?

Good morning, people.

I have stopped being a breeder and keeper many years before.

Black leghorns do exist. You will contact a friend of mine from Greece (I will send you a personal message). You can also contact

https://www.youtube.com/user/HenDaisy/about

.

Minorcas are much heavier and taller. Minorcas have a long back, while leghorns a bipedal body. Minorcas have black feet and I think white skin. Minorcas have huge earlobes!!! Minorcas lay the largest eggs. That's why minorcas need high octane layer feed when lay.

Black leghorns are the easier color to breed for not showing purposes, but for utility. Any other color of the breed (except the white hybridized leghorns and the barred colored leghorns) can be crossed to black and give black (with some non-black feathers). You cross again to black and you take solid black. Leghorns lay smaller eggs than the minorca and have a much better conversion. They are very economical eaters. They are much smaller than the minorcas too. They are just a bit bigger than the white hybridized leghorns.

So in that case, my black boy X my isabella girl gave me 50% solid black chicks and 50% black with some gold chicks.

 

[Maiahr]

Thank you... I cannot find Minorca eggs here. Neither I can find Black Leghorns. I found a supplier who sells Isabella eggs for 2.50EUR per egg. Now, I was not able to find a thread for Minorcas, but when you say they lay largest eggs - is this your experience or you read it somewhere?