Does any one know of a source for brown leg horn in california around the bay area? I live in a suburb near san fransico and bought three baby rhode island reds that i was going to let run in my rabbit barn ,well got home late one night to find two and a half insteated. Some thing large had dinner. Need less to say i am building a moveable small coop [at night they are locked in a rabbit cage and let out in yard during day when s0me one is home]now one looks like a rooster [no spur yet] so i will need to get a bird about the same size to replace it if it is.Any breeders around here?

-- kathy hart (www.saddlebronc @ msn.com), October 22, 1999

Answers

We got our Danish Brown Leghorns from Belt Hatchery. Their web site is http://www.belthatch.com They are only hatching through Oct 27 so if you want chicks now you'll have to hurry.

This company is located in CA and we bought their chicks when we lived in WI. We were very satisfied with them, having used Murray McMurray previously. Belt Hatchery is much less expensive. Their price for brown leghorn pullets is $1.10 and straight run is 80 cents. We kept one of our brown leghorn roosters (moved him all the way to Arkansas when we moved this summer) because he was so congenial and beautiful. In fact we loaned him to a friend who does farm tours at her dairy farm and has a small petting zoo for just those reasons. The hens we found to be rather skittish and didn't find them to be as good layers as our white leghorns (we didn't choose to move any of them). Most of the hens we moved were heavy breeds, buff orpingtons, austrolops, and the like.

Good luck with your chickens. We just did a major rebuild on our chicken coop after the neighbors lost all their layers to coyotes! Mail order companies require a purchase of 25 chicks but perhaps this company is close enough to you to drive to.

Kim

-- Kim (fleece@eritter.net), October 22, 1999.

Why is everyone so excited about BROWN EGGS? 'SCUSE ME EGGS ARE EGGS, AREN'T THEY?

-- Bob Henderson (redgate@echoweb.net), October 23, 1999.

Don't know what you mean Bob?? No one was talking about brown eggs. All the leghorns (brown and white) lay white eggs. The heavy breeds are brown egg layers, I just like them because they are so winter hardy and because they are good dual purpose birds (meatier than the leghorns).

-- Kim (fleece@eritter.net), October 23, 1999.

As experienced chicken people know leghorns lay white eggs. The beauty of brown eggs is their beauty. Man doesn't live but bread alone and aesthetics are extremely important to some of us. Brown eggs make, by far, the most beautiful dyed eggs for the vernal equinox celebration. The relative merits of brown vs white vs blue eggs nutritionally is determined by the diet and age of the hen.

-- kirby johnson (kirby@selco.lib.mn.us), October 25, 1999.

Thank you kim for the source, so far no spur or crowing so she? is staying.Never raised leghorns but from what you said i might just stick to reds since they are so easy to raise.I got 2 chickens from the pound once and discovered the next morning when the neighbor turned on her back light that on was a rooster! We lived [ and still do ] in town so fiasco as we named him went to live in country on a ranch and i learned to tell the difference betwin hen and rooster. Husband still teases me about that one. Thanks again.

-- kathy hart (saddlebronc@msn.com), October 29, 1999.

Hi - We bought a motley crew of birds last Spring (1999). Banties, heavies, and several different varieties. We have two New hampshire Reds which lay huge, brown eggs, Two white Polish and one Golden Polish hens which lay a white egg with a pointed tip. Cochins are sure pretty things, we have buff, black and blue. The cochins are slow to mature, which means they will be big before the roosters start to crow which means they'll still be tender to eat. Once a rooster starts to crow, his meat will be tough. Our Leghorns were all males, and they crowed at such a young age, that they weren't worth the trouble of putting them in the freezer. But they are beautiful and gentle. We have a handsome Black Langshan Rooster called Gimp (because he almost died as a baby) and a white Langshan hen. We also have a rooster and a hen Silver Gray Dorkings. These are gently birds, and not nearly as easily frightened by our presence as the other birds. But now that Ms Dorking wants to brood, she has a unique voice that she uses to keep me from reaching under her for the eggs. And it works, too.

I'm bringing all this up because you mentioned you wanted Leghorns. They'll be fine for eggs, but if you want meat, like I said the roosters crow at such a young age. They are really an oversexed bunch.

Oh yes, we also have two male Golden Polish which tend to be mean, but so stupid that we don't worry about them too much. The last but not least, is an exotic they through in for free. He's a Japanese Golden Phoenix. Beautiful, but mean as a firecracker!

Enjoy your chickens. It's quite an experience.

-- Ally (Like2Read@bigfoot.com), March 18, 2000.

To Bob Henderson

Yup, eggs is eggs. However, the people who want to get eggs from us really like the brown ones. They associate brown eggs with country living, fresh air, no chemicals, etc., I guess because they don't get brown ones at the grocery store. I agree they are pretty, but we also have white ones and green ones which are also pretty. I really like the orange yolks the best though (we feed corn) and it doesn't matter what color the outside is to me!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), March 18, 2000.

Bob, Every thing Iv'e ever read says eggs are eggs, but I bet brown eggs out sell white 100 to 1 here. All my grand-critter's customers want only brown eggs, so that is what we raise. We have about 25 white rocks, & no matter what, the kid can't carry enough to town to cover all her cust. She is just 6, so we help a lot with the work, but it is her project from the start.

-- Okie-Dokie (www.tommycflinstone@aol.com), March 19, 2000.

Cackle Hatchery has brown leghorns phone # 417-532-4581 .10 birds st.run are $16.00 100=$63.00

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), March 22, 2000.