Leggorn (breed of chickens): reviews. Chickens of high egg production

Leggorn - a breed of chickens, reviews about which the owners of farms and homesteads are exceptionally positive, are bred in our country since the 1920s. This is a very unpretentious bird of the egg direction of productivity. They grow Leghorns not only in small farms, but also in large poultry farms.

History of the breed

In the middle of the XIX century in the US from Italy were brought very unpretentious chickens with white feather color. Since they were supplied from the port of Livorno, the Americans named them in their own way - "Leggorn". In addition to being unpretentious and undemanding to the diet, these other birds did not differ with any other particularly outstanding qualities. The prolonged breeding work carried out in the United States made it possible to obtain chickens capable of carrying up to 300 eggs per year. To date, this is one of the most common breeds in the world, considered to be the American one. In the US, the Ledgorne make up about 95% of the total number of livestock that is grown in the country. Below, the photo shows a typical modern cock of a leggorn.

In Russia, these chickens were imported first in 1925-27, and then in 1946. Subsequently, they were used for breeding and obtaining highly productive crosses.

Chicken leggings: description

Most often in the farms of our country, leggorns with a white feather are bred. However, there are quite a lot of varieties of the breed of this bird, therefore on farms and poultry farms one can sometimes find leghorns of brown, pale, motley, blue and even black. At the moment there are about twenty variations of the color of the pen of chickens of this breed. The main distinguishing features of all the leggorns without exception are:

• Leaf-shaped crest of bright red color. In the chickens, it hangs to the side, the males have a standing one.
• A neat head of medium size and a rather long thin neck.
• Light bones and broad chest.
• Dense plumage.
• Tail, standing at an angle of 30-40 gr.

Young feet of chicken feet have a yellow color, in older individuals - white.

Productivity

Leggorn - a breed of chickens, reviews of which allow us to talk about it as a very unpretentious and productive, bred mainly to receive eggs. Too large birds in any case do not grow. The hen weighs about 1.5-2 kg, the cockerel weighs 2.3-2.6 kg. According to egg production, this breed considerably exceeds most other, heavier ones.

Layer-laying eggs alone can carry up to 300 eggs per year. Of course, only with a properly composed diet and good conditions of detention. But in any case, these chickens are seldom less than 150-200 eggs per year. Their weight can be 56-58 grams. The color of the eggshell eggs of this breed of chickens is white.

Meat leggorns are not bred. However, after the drop in egg production (usually more than two years they are not contained), the bird, of course, is slaughtered. Chicken carcasses of this breed are distinguished by white skin and have an attractive enough neat appearance - without dark stumps and cyanosis. At a young age, only superfluous male LEGHORGONS are killed. Their skin has a natural yellowish hue.

There is a very interesting variety of chickens of this breed - dwarf leggorn. These are very small, but also highly productive birds. The bear of the dwarf leggorma weighs about 1.2-1.4 kg, the cockerel - 1.4-1.7 kg. Yaytsenoskoost breed - 210-260 pcs. in year.

Reproduction

Leggorns refer to the early breed of chickens and begin to swell already in 4.5-5.5 months. Petushki are very active and prolific. Therefore, it is not at all necessary to keep them in the household too much. The instinct of incubation in these chickens is not present. Fertility of eggs - 95%. The yield of the young is 88-92%. Chickens are born active, viable and begin to be fledged by the age of two weeks.

Leggorn (breed of chickens): reviews

The opinion of Russian farmers about this breed is traditionally very good. Since these chickens weigh a little, respectively, and feed on them to spend is not very much. With eggs, they carry much more than many other breeds. Many owners of household plots include the brown color of the shell for the merits of chicken leggorns. At the moment, on sale in shops and markets, you can find mostly white eggs. Browns are considered a kind of "exotic" and are bought more than willingly.

In some cases, even the absence of the instinct of hatching is considered to be a plus for the breed. Incubators today are very inexpensive, because if you wish, chicks can always be taken out independently. In this case, the owners of leggorns are completely free from problems with a decrease in productivity when trying to sit on eggs.

The dense plumage of these chickens makes it possible to breed them even in regions with a continental climate. Lozgorny deserved good reviews from the owners of household plots of most regions of our country - from the Caucasus to Siberia.

Crosses

Lunghorn chickens, the description of which was given above, and these days are actively used as a parent breed in breeding highly productive crosses. The most popular hybrids obtained include:

• The Rodonites. Creation of this cross was engaged in 1989-1995 at the Sverdlovsk Gas Processing Plant. Chickens of rhodonite carry up to 296 eggs per average layer per year. At the moment, their share in our country accounts for about 40% of the total number of livestock.
• P46. Parental breeds for this hybrid were leggorns Japanese, Canadian and Dutch. Nesushki P46 can lay to 260 eggs per year.
• Loman is white. Chickens of this hybrid are characterized by very high egg production and feed conversion, but are quite demanding on the conditions of their maintenance.

There are a lot of other hybrids and crosses, the creation of which used Lunghorn chicken. Each of them has its own merits and a huge number of adherents - owners of household plots and farms.

Features of the content

Leggorn - a breed of chickens, the reviews of which, therefore, are certainly positive. Since this bird does not differ in size, it is not necessary to build a too large shed for it. The same goes for walking. It will be enough to fence a small area near the poultry grid with a rabbit. As for most other breeds, it is necessary to arrange roosts, nests and feeders for Leggorns. The first are located at a height of about 80 cm from the floor, with the opposite side of the window. Nests can be nailed to the wall of the barn. It is best to arrange them at the level of the roosts and in the immediate vicinity of them.

The window in the barn must be required. Lunghorn chickens need good light and fresh air for good development and increased productivity. Of course, the shed should be kept clean. Leggorny is a hardy bird, it's quite resistant to diseases. However, the lack of fresh air, the smell of ammonia, the large amount of feces, etc., can lead not only to a decline in egg production, but also to the outbreak of an epidemic.

Cellular content

It is normal for a domestic chicken leggorn and content in the cells. In this case, you can save even more space. These chickens weigh very little, and therefore feel great, including on the net floor. Of course, it needs to be inclined and arrange a tray for the reception of eggs outside the cell. The feeder and the drinking bowl are usually hung on the door, and the distance between the rods is made so that the chicken can easily poke the head between them.

Features of feeding

The food of chicken leggings is usually given three times a day. In the mornings and evenings, you can put in dry food grains (wheat, barley, etc.), with special additives added in them, as well as a small amount of chalk and salt.

At lunch they make pouches. In the summer they rub carrots, raw potatoes, beets, apples, cut cabbage. You can also add nettle and quinoa. Carrots and beet tops are very useful for chickens . If desired, you can also mix grated zucchini. Be sure to add a little bran to the mushrooms. Meat and bone meal will not be superfluous .

Incubation of eggs

Particularly well, the domestic chicken of the Leygorn breed rushes in the first year of keeping. The second productivity is slightly reduced. To keep these chickens for more than two years, most owners of household plots are considered inexpedient. Therefore, one-year-old laying hens need to collect eggs and lay them on incubation. Select only smooth, without cracks and outgrowths, of medium size.

The most popular white leggorms of the shell are almost transparent. Therefore, to identify the spoiled eggs of chickens of this breed with the help of an ovoscope will not be difficult at all. At a transmission it is first of all necessary to pay attention to a yolk and the air chamber. The first must be an integer. When a good egg turns over, it slightly moves aside and immediately returns to its place. The air chamber should be located at the blunt end. Those eggs in which it is strongly biased are rejected.

The incubation is carried out in the usual manner. That is, the necessary temperature and humidity conditions are observed.

Care for chickens

Lighorne chickens hatch for 21 days. In an incubator they are left until they have no drying down. Then the chicks are transplanted into the nursery. As the latter, you can use, for example, a large cardboard box.

In most cases, small chicken leggorns, like chicks from any other breed, are fed with curd and boiled yolk. However, some poultry farmers have recently refused such practice, considering such food for chickens, albeit very small, unnatural. Instead of eggs and cottage cheese, they advise to feed the chickens specially for them feed "Start for layers". Since they eat very little chicks, the purchase of a balanced meal, of course, will not cause any special expenses. You can also give chickens finely crushed corn, wheat and oatmeal.

In the first ten days the chicks are fed 5-6 times a day. By the month the frequency of feeding is reduced to three times. From the four-day age chicks begin to give finely chopped greens, mixing it with the main food. It is also very useful for small chickens to give a small-shelled egg shell. On the fifth day you can start adding a little chalk to the food.

Monthly chickens can already be given potatoes, carrots and beets. The white leghorn chickens related to the breed are birds that are not particularly whimsical. But to observe the rules of making a "menu" for chicks is very important.

In particular, this concerns the diet of chicks of the dwarf leggow. If there are too many proteins in the menu, the chicks will crouch, and they will die.

When growing small chickens it is very important to observe the correct temperature regime. In the first five days the chicks are kept at 30-35 g. By the age of two months, it is gradually reduced to 16-18 g.

In the first 7 days of life chickens nurseries should be illuminated for at least 20 hours a day. The next weeks are 18 hours. You can let the chicks out from a week old, in a place protected from sunlight and for a very short time. For the whole day for a walk, chickens can be released starting from the eighth week of life.

Features of care

The chickens of the layhorn laying hen contain the following recommendations:

• Humidity in the house must not be less than 60%. The lowest threshold is 45%. If the air in the chicken coop is too dry, the chickens will begin to die. Of course, one should not allow a strong increase in humidity. Ventilation in the poultry house, as already mentioned, is mandatory.
• In the rear of chickens - especially if the shed is not too clean - often parasites are planted. At the same time the bird begins to pull out feathers actively. Many owners of household plots put in the hen houses special containers with ash. However, a much more effective way to get rid of chickens from parasites is considered to be specially developed for this drug. They are simply added to feed.
• Do not allow too high temperature fluctuations in the house. This affects egg production. In addition, chickens can get sick. Despite strong health, the bird of this breed and drafts does not like it.

The feather of the Leggorns is quite dense, and therefore they are not too afraid of cold weather. Heating in the barn is not necessary. However, it is also impossible to allow the temperature in the poultry house to fall too low in winter. In order for the hens to be warm, it is necessary to spread the floor with a thick layer of straw, hay and sawdust (about 40 cm). In the cold season such a litter will act as a natural heater. In it, all kinds of biological processes will begin to occur, accompanied by the release of heat. The only thing is to make sure that the top does not form a crust.

Cost of chickens and chickens

An incubation egg or Leygorn chickens can be bought from private traders or at a poultry farm engaged in breeding this breed. This is actually very popular and common chickens. The price for them is therefore not too high. An incubation egg, for example, costs about 35 rubles. For chickens usually ask for 60-70 rubles. For adult chickens - 300 r.

So, the conclusion from the above-stated can be made the following. Leggorn - chickens, the price of which is not too high - the breed is very good. Contain this bird is beneficial already because of the high conversion of feed, vitality and excellent egg production.