Laying Chickens - Raising Poultry - page 108

Leghorn
Choosing Your Laying Flock
When you first begin to contemplate your egg-laying flock, you'll find you have choices
among many breeds. If high egg production is your exclusive goal, it is best to stick with
one of the commercial crosses. If you are nostalgic or enjoy tinkering with feed rations
and alternative living situations such as chicken tractors, then look to some of the herit-
age breeds to make up your flock.
Heavy-Laying Crossbreds
Most white-egg-laying crossbred chickens tend to be a bit high-strung, flighty
(nervous), and harder to control. If you choose these breeds, you probably will want to
keep them inside or provide an enclosed runway to keep them from flying. Of course,
you can always trim their wings, meaning that you trim the outer flight feathers on one
wing, which keeps them from flying out of the coop and to places where you don't want
them.
These breeds tend to lay their best in spring and summer. Some of the named lines
of Leghorns, such as Pearl Whites, would be the choice for you if you want white eggs.
These chickens are bred to produce a large number of eggs over a first laying cycle,
molt, and then produce fewer eggs during a second egg-laying cycle. They tend to have
a longer first lay cycle because they molt later in the growth cycle.
Most brown-egg-laying crossbreds tend to be built differently than other layers.
They are a little heavier and usually will not get off the ground far enough to cause you
problems such as flying into trees, flying over five-foot-tall fences, and so on. For those
seeking pets as well as eggs, these types tend to be the best choices.